"The arrest of Rav Berland should not have happened. In a democratic country, one does not arrest for things like this that were accepted in the Jewish world in the past and are also common and accepted today. The indictment should contain at least minimal facts that establish the offense, and here there were only slogans." A comprehensive and shocking interview with the attorney of our teacher, the esteemed tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, Amit Hadad.

The Importance of the Redemption for the Release of Rav Berland shlit"a

These are the words of Attorney Hadad (the interview courtesy of Breslov Line *9148)

"We have not yet finished this saga, but there is no doubt that this is the beginning of the end, the release of the Rav is something that unfortunately was delayed by a year, because in my opinion, the Rav should not have been arrested at all, but from the moment he was arrested, we did everything possible to release him, and Baruch Hashem, we merited that the Rav was finally released."

Hatred Has Driven People Out of Their Minds

"When I entered the case, I was warned that, unfortunately, in certain communities and circles, the Rav is perceived as some sort of creature that should be locked away as far as possible, and representing him would raise a line of haters against me."

"The truth is, I did not attribute special importance to these things, it seemed to me to be an exaggeration. Unfortunately, I say that I made a big mistake - the exaggeration was upwards, not downwards. No one exaggerated in this story. Indeed, Rav Berland is perceived - and unjustly so - by those who know the facts of the case, who know the evidence in the case, who know on what basis the things were written in the indictment, know there is a huge gap between what is attributed to the Rav and what is found in this case."

"Therefore, we thought it necessary to act to release him, and indeed - this happened almost beyond nature. Our claim, which I think is so correct, and therefore so difficult to convince - that the type of offenses attributed to the Rav are of the kind that in a democratic country - the state does not enter, does not check, and does not look into such events."

[caption id="attachment_47922" align="alignnone" width="690"] Attorney Amit Hadad[/caption]

The Rav Could Have Said He Believes in the Power of Redemption and Would Have Been Released

"After all, what is the claim - the claim that the Rav performed a redemption of the soul for people, and there is no doubt even according to their view that redemption of the soul is an ancient Jewish practice. Their statement that the Rav did not believe in his healing power, and therefore when he tells people that it will be so or otherwise, if they give money they will be saved, and he says it when he thinks, believes, or knows that it will not happen, in this he commits an offense."

"If the Rav had said in his investigations that he believes the outcome will change, that he believes in the power of the redemption of the soul, that he believes in the power of giving, the laws would change and permission would be given to the healer to heal, if he had said he believes in it, then there would be no offense."

"And the fact that this type of offense depends on the Rav's belief - this is something that is unacceptable. Beyond that, we showed that it is not an event unique to Rav Berland, that the redemption is ancient, but even in our days, identical things happen in other places, and no one considers investigating."

[caption id="attachment_47924" align="alignnone" width="630"] The esteemed tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a brought to a hearing in an arrest that should not have been[/caption]

"Therefore, we thought and still think, and we also believe that if this case proceeds, the matters will come out, there is nothing unique here. The only unique thing is that the defendant in this case is Rav Berland. And the personal identity of the defendant cannot dictate a different legal outcome."

"This is the claim, it is a claim that is hard to accept at first glance, but there is no doubt that if this case proceeds and we are in it, the matters will surface and everyone will understand how strange it is to use legal tools, the harsh tools of criminal law, in relation to such events."

The Arrest of the Rav is Something That Should Not Have Happened

"We thought, think, and will think, that this event is an event - that should not have occurred in our reality, simply. The fact that the Rav was supposed to be released, that there was a decision by the judge in the Magistrate's Court who ordered his release, actually. But, because the supervisors were delayed and did not arrive, they postponed the hearing to the next day, and then they did something, they actually tore the indictment, the suspicions - they tore and pulled out some things they thought might be solid and ready, put it on paper, and with that, they sought to extend the detention until the end of the proceedings, and continued to investigate the rest, all in order to keep Rav Berland in detention."

"In our opinion, this is fundamentally flawed, and therefore I said that the release of the Rav today - it is almost an event beyond nature."

The Judge Erased Dozens of Indictments for the Prosecution

"A. Preliminary claims, to the credit of the judge, we are making preliminary claims in a second round. In the previous round, she erased dozens of offenses for the prosecution, I think this hardly received publicity, but she erased dozens of offenses for the prosecution. Once due to defects in the indictment, and she simply erased and did not give us the opportunity to correct, a second time due to statute of limitations. Therefore, to come and say that the preliminary claims did not succeed, I think that is not true."

"Regarding the last decision, we thought that the indictment in everything related to economic offenses, is so thin, sparse, and vague that it is practically impossible to deal with it. Because to come and say that the Rav brought in over 138 million shekels and did not report it to the tax authorities, and the only detail you have is what I just said, more than that you will not find in the indictment, it does not allow you to deal with the claim."

"The indictment should contain at least minimal facts that establish the offense. Here, the matters were not even skeletal, less, they were at the level of a slogan, and with a slogan, with all due respect, you do not go and file an indictment."

"This was our claim, which unfortunately was not accepted, but I think that as matters continue, we will be able to prove them and explain from the perspective of the court and the prosecution."

The Rav's Medical Condition is Complex and Does Not Allow for a Trial

"They would like the evidentiary hearings to start immediately. In the end, we are all subject to considerations that are much more significant than legal considerations, and these are medical considerations. Unfortunately, and this is not a game, Rav Berland is in a very, very complex medical condition. This is not something I say, this is said by the prison service, said by the Supreme Court, said by everyone, and therefore the trial will have to align with medical matters, and we will bow our heads to the professional opinions of the medical personnel."

"There is no deadline, we think this is a justified request like no other. We very much hope that the matters will be heard and considered positively, because a real possibility to conduct a mega-trial like this case, against someone as ill as Rav Berland, we think such a possibility does not exist. And it seems to us that everyone who has eyes in their head understands this. Maybe they are not willing to admit it, but everyone understands this, a person who during his arrest was so much time in the hospital, who went through so many medical events, in detention and even before that."

"For reasons of privacy, I will not expand, it is clear that against such a person, one should not conduct such a precedent-setting, so strange, so wrong, in our opinion, to see if he will survive the process to its end."

For the Rav's Benefit, the Conditions for His Release Must Be Met

"There is a list of conditions for the Rav's release. It is important to adhere to the conditions strictly if we want the Rav's welfare, and I have no doubt that everyone wants the welfare of Rav Berland. It is necessary to adhere to the conditions and rules that were set, strictly. Even if it means the Rav is far away, and even if it means he is less accessible."

"If we want the Rav's welfare, we must adhere to these things, and this means no more redemptions of the soul, not for a fee and not without a fee. Everyone should read, there is a long list: do not go to the place where the Rav is. The place is kept and maintained in secret, do not go there - do not cause the Rav to stumble, God forbid."

"It is necessary to understand that one must not cause the Rav to stumble, the Rav wants and asks for good for everyone, that is my impression. Do not put him to the test where he wants to help someone, but in doing so, he harms himself. Therefore, I ask in every possible way to adhere to things as they are written and to set even a limit, to the things written there so that we do not cause the Rav to stumble, and that we do not return him, God forbid, to the difficult place he was in."

"Rav Berland Was in a Difficult Place."

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