Brutal and Shocking Arrest of Breslov Shuvu Banim Leader During Gemara Lesson

Shocking, outrageous, brutal, and repulsive. One searches for the words to define the unnecessary arrest of His Holiness, HaGaon HaTzaddik Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a.

In the middle of the regular Gemara class as part of the Daf Yomi, which Rav Berland shlit"a delivers to a massive public that awakens every night to study Gemara and strengthen themselves in the service of Hashem, shortly before the Shacharit prayer at sunrise in the manner of the vatikin, dozens of security forces raided the home of Rav Berland shlit"a.

Those forces entered the prayer hall with repulsive defiance, presented an arrest warrant to the Rav shlit"a, and arrested him during a regular class. Yes, this is the absolute truth; could they not have waited until the conclusion of the class and the prayer with the public that regularly crowds and fills the prayer hall?

The most outrageous detail in the story is that the Israel Police has been trying with all its might for two months to scrape together testimonies against His Holiness Rav Berland shlit"a (as per the attorneys' words which we will bring later), without any success. The Rav had previously provided his testimony and was willing to cooperate fully with the investigative authorities. There was no reason to conduct the arrest in such an outrageous and brutal manner as was done.

At the end of the hearing, the attorneys for His Holiness HaGaon HaTzaddik Rav Berland shlit"a and other victims explained that the police are trying to recruit a state's witness in the affair. After all, this is the repulsive method where, after the police fail to find witnesses for their claims, they create unnecessary and excessive pressure, hoping that someone might perhaps bring them some lead.

Attorney Rotem Tubul, who represents Rav Berland shlit"a, spoke harshly and refuted the police's claims: "We saw in court how much the Israel Police issued statements too early, unlike what was discussed in court. No huge sums were seized, as they declared. No dozens or hundreds of files were opened, as the police tried to claim. I am sorry that they arrived armed and prepared for an arrest just so it would be interesting for the media. At the end of the day, they arrested him, he cooperated, and we discovered that it is a very small number of cases, with not high amounts. No funds were seized and there are no accounts, as the police tried to mislead in the media."

"And in general, all the files that the police tried to claim were known to them for a long time, and until now they chose not to investigate Rabbi Eliezer Berland. We learn that the investigation will likely not lead in the end to the indictment that the Israel Police is trying to present."

From the testimony of Nachman, a relative of His Holiness Rav Berland shlit"a, as published today in the general media, a full expression of trust in the Rav emerges.

"The media and the police are trying to portray Rav Berland in a negative way, but I know the opposite story (one of many) of a man from Kfar Saba who brought a pidyon (redemption) to the Rav with three herniated discs, and he returned to walking."

"The placebo - exactly like the Baba Sali and other rabbis who gave blessings, like the Baba Sali who blessed the Arak - so this time it could be anything else, so this time it is Mentos that the grandfather distributed."

"He said, 'We believe that these rabbis can transfer their salvation to these things.'"

"Where are these 200 people? I want to see the 200 people who said this; I don't believe it, the police are telling stories. First of all, these are only suspicions, and there will always be those who believe this side and those who believe that side. Of course, the media will always broadcast that side; surely it will turn out that there is nothing to the suspicions."

The true testimonies regarding the pidyonot of Rav Berland shlit"a