Here It Comes! The Investigation of "The Berland Case" Dreyfus Trial 2016 for

Summary of the Dreyfus Affair:

This affair shook public opinion in France between the years 1895 and 1906, with its public repercussions continuing to ripple for years afterward. The affair began with the discovery of classified military documents that had originated from the French General Staff and were found in the trash can of the German Embassy in Paris. At that time, France and Germany were in a state of war, and the matter was investigated immediately. The true traitor was Prince Walsin Esterhazy, who belonged to aristocratic circles, but in order to preserve the honor of the nobility, a scapegoat was found in the person of Alfred Dreyfus, an outstanding Jewish officer who also served on the General Staff. After the documents were forged by Colonel Henry and a file of "incriminating evidence" was fabricated, Dreyfus was arrested in October 1894 and forced to confess to the act. His vigorous denial was of no avail, and after a secret trial in December 1894, he was subjected two weeks later to a humiliating public military ceremony of degradation, as befitting a "traitor," and was sent to life imprisonment on Devil’s Island (off the coast of French Guiana). At this stage, a wave of antisemitism bordering on violence against the Jews of France began to erupt, and the country, considered the most enlightened and open in Europe, was exposed to dark phenomena of extreme nationalism.

Over the next three years, while Dreyfus served his harsh imprisonment in distant exile, the head of French intelligence, Georges Picquart, uncovered the corruption ring but was silenced and dismissed from his post to serve in a French colony in North Africa. A rumor mill questioning Dreyfus’s conviction began to circulate in public discourse and the French press, but the climax was the emotional and poignant article by the writer Émile Zola, which was first published in the newspaper L'Aurore in January 1898 under the sharp headline "J'accuse" ("I Accuse"). In his letter, the writer points to prominent figures among the military leadership and senior politicians in the government who had a hand in the corruption ring, the forgery of documents, the concealment of the real spy, and the framing of the innocent Jewish officer. The brave writer was sentenced to a heavy fine and a year in prison for this publication, but he managed to escape to England in time to seek political asylum there.

The public storm stirred by the writer led to the trial of Prince Esterhazy, but since documents were withheld from the court by order of Minister of War Billot, he was acquitted. The public and the media did not "buy" the rigged trial, and the storm did not subside. In August 1898, Minister of War Godefroy Cavaignac ordered the establishment of a military commission of inquiry, which discovered Colonel Henry’s forgeries. Following the commission’s findings, the Minister of War resigned, but not before ordering the Colonel’s arrest; however, the latter managed to commit suicide on the night of his arrest before he could be interrogated.

One year later, in August 1899, a retrial was held for Dreyfus, in which he was still found guilty, but his sentence was reduced to 10 years in prison. This move, intended to quiet the public storm, backfired and further inflamed the media and public opinion, with the inevitable argument: "If he is guilty and a traitor, why shorten his sentence, and if he is innocent, why not release him immediately?"

Consequently, the President announced a pardon and full release about a month after the trial.

Dreyfus returned to France a broken, tortured, and exhausted man.

Five years later, in March 1904, he filed an appeal against the verdict, and in June 1906, the final verdict was handed down, completely exonerating Dreyfus. About a month later, a magnificent and impressive military ceremony was held for Dreyfus, in which his ranks were restored to him, he was even awarded the French Legion of Honor as compensation, and Georges Picquart, the brave whistleblower of the corruption ring, was promoted to the rank of General.

In Conclusion:

The conclusions from the Dreyfus Affair prove how far a corrupt regime is willing to go in fabricating files and false plots in order to achieve its goal, using all legal and judicial tools in the name of protecting justice. Another parallel between the Dreyfus trial and the case of Rav Berland and Rav Pinto can be found, according to the words of Rav Berland himself, in the suicide of the man who was operationally behind the fabrication of the file, Colonel Henry, and 119 years later, Chief Superintendent Ephraim Bracha, head of the National Fraud Investigation Unit (YAHA), who also, by virtue of his position, is "allegedly" responsible for the fabrication of the file against Rav Yoshiyahu Pinto and Rav Berland.

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"There are no wicked people in Israel" | Ruth Krayti

From his place of imprisonment in Johannesburg, South Africa, locked inside a small cell in the detention center, Rabbi Eliezer Berland, the Rav of the Shuvu Banim Chassidut and institutions, waits for a retrial in South Africa and/or the execution of an extradition order that will return him to Israel. In a long phone conversation with the greatest of the returners to teshuvah, who is considered by the public to be a tzaddik, an illui (prodigy), and a genius of his generation, I heard from him about extortion attempts, plots, intrigues, and a sequence of strange, well-timed, and well-planned events that brought the Rav to this point. The goal is clear: his extreme opponents are working to destroy the Shuvu Banim institutions, which are considered among the largest institutions in Jerusalem. To my question, in light of the findings in my possession, why does the Rav not respond publicly? His answer was: "There are no wicked people in Israel. I do not want to hurt anyone." Based on this faith, Rav Berland is paying the price, along with several behind-the-scenes facts that will surprise you too...

'Shuvu Banim' Home

Rabbi Eliezer Berland was born in Haifa on 26/12/1937, 23 Tevet, to his parents Chaim and Atiya Berland. In his childhood, he studied at Yeshivat Yavne, and at the age of 17 and a half, he studied for three years at Yeshivat Knesset Chizkiyahu in Kfar Chassidim. At the age of 21, he married Tehilla Shaki, daughter of Knesset member Shalom Avraham Shaki, and they had one son and five daughters. Already in his youth, Rabbi Eliezer Berland was known for his charismatic personality and his ability to captivate an audience. The Rav is considered among the public to be the first of the returners to teshuvah in Israel and the world.

After his marriage, he studied for about a month at the Ponevezh Kollel and then at the Volozhin Kollel in Bnei Brak. Even the greatest of the Lithuanian generation at that time knew that a tzaddik and a great Torah prodigy was growing. The Shuvu Banim community is just as its name implies - the return to teshuvah, the return of the sons home to the bosom of Orthodox Judaism. The community, one of the largest, most magnificent, and central for returners to teshuvah in Breslov Chassidut, has known storms and disputes, but never on such a large scale. These are institutions that include kindergartens, a cheder, Talmud Torahs, a seminary for girls, a midrashiya for women returning to teshuvah, kollels, a yeshiva in the Old City with 4 additional kollels, and study halls all over the country: in Kiryat Sefer, Beitar Illit, Bnei Brak, Holon, Bat Yam, Haifa, and Eilat.

The affair that has been stirring the Shuvu Banim community for about three years began with the testimony of 'one who claimed to be a chassid,' as they call him in the environment, who had actually joined the community half a year prior. According to that 'self-proclaimed chassid,' he saw Rav Berland and one of the women of the community in a situation that could not be interpreted in two ways. When additional testimonies from women accumulated at the police station in a method of 'one complainant brings another,' and even though the Rav’s defense line has not yet been revealed for obvious reasons—because if it had been revealed, it could have caused an earthquake and exposed the intrigues and plots concocted against the Rav and his community. Although the defense line has not yet been revealed, the loyal chassidim refused to believe and claimed: "It is all a lie. Malicious, false accusations by the Rav’s enemies. Soon everyone will know that Rav Berland is innocent."

And so, from the material of testimonies, photographs, documentation, and evidence that were revealed to me, and according to testimonies given with a focused purpose by the 'self-proclaimed chassid' and his wife, and from affidavits given in the Netherlands and South Africa by citizens who are willing, according to them, to also be tested on a polygraph regarding the truthfulness of the affidavits they gave, and by reviewing the request for the Rav’s extradition, it is a matter of the lowest threshold of offenses that exist and for which people are not arrested in Israel. The question arises: Who took care to get Rav Berland out of Israel? And on the other hand, who took care to get all the defamation against him out in Israel and abroad?

From my research point of view, these are publications the likes of which have never been seen. For decades, there has been no such persecution abroad against a Jew and his community, a matter that leads to the awakening of antisemitism in the world. All the persecution and all the publications were done, according to those in the know and as reported to me, by Rav Berland’s opponents, who do not shy away from any means to destroy the Rav, his community, and his institutions, even at the price of connecting with the greatest antisemites in the world.

The Greatest of the Returners to Teshuvah

Full disclosure and with a hand on my heart: As I perused the writings and leafed through the data before me, studying for long days the evidence material placed before me, I could not help but ask myself the most banal and basic questions that exist. After all, it is known to everyone that this is a Rav whose every concern is directed toward Torah and saving the People of Israel from the clutches of decrees. An 80-year-old Rav who suffers from severe health problems and does not utter a word or complain that he is in pain. How is it possible that the Rav is accused of accusations that are physically suitable for a young and healthy man? This matter is not clear to me at all and is not grasped in my consciousness.

In a phone conversation I held with Rabbi Eliezer Berland in his cell in the Johannesburg prison, he told me about a health condition that is not normal. About a poor quality of life with a pacemaker in his chest. The Rav does not ask for medical treatment and also not for the medications he is supposed to receive on a daily basis. While we were talking, my mind wandered to questions that have no answers. I asked myself: What happened to a community so well-known, so appreciated, beloved, and magnificent, with a beloved and appreciated Rav in the public who stands at the head of the largest institutions in Jerusalem and is rightly considered a tzaddik and a genius of the generation? A Rav whom, to meet, one needs to stand under his house, wait for him to come out, and then cry out to him: "Rav, I need help!" And the Rav stops immediately and approaches that person to listen to him.

A Rav who is known among the greatest of the generation, rabbis, and the public as a master of secrets, who performs miracles and wonders, heals people, makes shidduchim, and returns thousands to teshuvah. A Rav who, through his advice, brings people out of the lowest depths. A Rav who is moderate in every limb and sinew, who flees from honor and pride, and whose love for Israel is unsurpassed. A Rav who calls on his community and the public who turn to him to walk in straight paths. I also read everything that was written about Rav Berland in the media. They presented him as extreme and uncompromising, but anyone who observes from the side and listens to his statements, such as: "It is absolutely forbidden to go up to the Temple Mount. It is forbidden to provoke the nations, and one must judge every person favorably," understands that this is a moderate Rav. Also on the subject of children’s education, Rav Berland has an absolute doctrine. The Rav forbade them with a severe prohibition to act with violence toward children and in general. His students are not allowed to force upon their children what they themselves do not do. This is the opposite of what his opponents wanted him to do.

So what caused such a magnificent chassidic community, on a huge scale, where more than 80% are Sephardic chassidim—which is actually, according to his chassidim, what created the dispute, the jealousy, and the hatred toward the Rav, his community, and his institutions—what caused the community to stand in the eye of the public storm, when their beloved Rav is accused of accusations that caused the Israel Police to issue an extradition order and an international arrest warrant against him?

The insights and conclusions were as clear to me as the sun. I could not help but point a finger and ask: Is it possible that the Rav’s success in establishing the yeshiva as one of the largest in Jerusalem, both in terms of spirituality and financial stability, is it his success that brought upon him and the community the stormy affair?

Chassidut in its Glory

To answer these questions and others, and to understand from where the fierce opposition to the Rav, his community, and his institutions emerged, I returned to the early days of the establishment of Breslov Chassidut. A Chassidut that was founded at the end of the 18th century by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, who is the great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Chassidut. Breslov Chassidut has a worldview, customs, and practices that are unique only to it, and they feel they have copyrights on Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. According to my understanding—and I am not generalizing about all Breslov rabbis—there are extremists among them who connected with activists with a personal interest within the community, who set themselves a goal: to eliminate the phenomenon called Rav Berland, his community, and his institutions, when the Rav had trusted them and supported them for years. He even supported those who opposed him.

A faction in Breslov Chassidut, 'Shuvu Banim,' is a large faction founded by Rabbi Eliezer Berland. A Rav with extraordinary spiritual charisma who is considered a tzaddik, an illui, and a genius of his generation, to whom the masses of the House of Israel flock. Among those who seek his door are also the children of a group of chassidim who consider themselves the elite of the elite in Chassidut. In addition to establishing the institutions and yeshivas in Jerusalem and a place of residence in Mea Shearim, Rav Berland was the first to connect the chassidim with Rebbe Nachman of Breslov when he broke the path to Uman and brought down the Iron Curtain in the former Soviet Union.

The Rav began traveling to Uman every Rosh Hashanah to fulfill the will of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, who said: "No one should be missing from my Rosh Hashanah." Rav Berland acted according to the statement of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, who said: "My light will burn until the coming of Mashiach." Before the establishment of his seat, his community, and his institutions in Jerusalem, and until the trips to Uman, Breslov Chassidut was obscure and unknown to the general public. The Chassidut was then considered a small Chassidut, shunned and despised in the eyes of the Haredi and Lithuanian sector.

In my conversations with a believing person who is not involved in the life of the community but knows its social complexity, I was told that anyone who observes from the side understands immediately that were it not for Rav Berland, who returned the light of Rebbe Nachman to the world, were it not for that, there would only be a small handful of Breslov chassidim that would have continued to shrink, because they kept the teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov to themselves. These facts and others caused the dispute and the opposition to Rav Berland, his chassidim, and his institutions, which, according to them, all stems from baseless jealousy and baseless hatred.

Behind-the-Scenes Intrigues

When I peruse the documents and hear the recordings, I understand more than ever that this can definitely be a reason for the schism, since the actions and opposition of the Rav’s opponents actually began 20 years ago.

When activists from within Breslov Chassidut began to see that the masses of the House of Israel were beginning to arrive in Uman, they sought control for themselves by virtue of being close to the World Breslov Committee, and they involved the committee against Rav Berland. In a Din Torah that took place between the World Breslov Committee and Rav Berland, he won the Din Torah, but as is his custom in holiness and out of his kindness and his trait of giving and humility, he instructed the managers of his institutions to transfer to the World Breslov Committee all the management and the spiritual leadership of Uman.

All this in order to prevent a dispute. Those same opponents took over the Rav’s institutions and for 10 years dictated an extreme spiritual line, which did not fit socially and culturally with the Sephardic returners to teshuvah and not according to the opinion of Rav Berland. The takeover of the Rav led to a major explosion after 10 years, when the chassidim rebelled and dismantled the regime that those extreme opponents of the Rav had forced upon the institution’s activists, or in cooperation with them. And from here, when the Rav and his chassidim began to flourish, after 15 years of exile, the extreme opponents began a process of defamation, incitement, and framing against the Rav with the goal of eliminating his community.

In a conversation with a person involved in the affair, he tells me: "In the end, the reference will be from an evidentiary perspective, and at the end of the day, there will be no substance to the suspicions against the Rav. Therefore, it is not impossible that soon data will be submitted to the law enforcement authorities that will cause them to reconsider all the accusations against the Rav. The conduct this time will be against the law enforcement authorities and not against the media." That same person claims to me that, in fact, the complainants, including the 'self-proclaimed chassid,' are actually victims of Rav Berland’s opponents, who used them in order to destroy the community. A matter that will be proven evidentially and publicly. After a long period in which the Rav was defamed all over the world, his associates and professionals have been working in recent weeks to restore the Rav’s trust in the Israeli judicial system.

Opening Shot

Like a snowball rolling without the possibility of stopping, so began the affair against Rav Berland, in which he is suspected and accused. A resounding affair that crosses cities and countries in the world with motifs that would not shame the best of screenwriters' minds. To understand the sequence of events and what preceded the filing of the complaints against the Rav in the month of Tammuz 7/2012, that same person involved in the details says: "That 'self-proclaimed chassid' spread about the Rav that he saw him with a woman. In retrospect, he acted together with and according to the advice of the Rav’s extreme opponents, and among other things, also tried to extort the Rav. When the story was intended by Rav Berland’s opponents to undermine his community of chassidim against him using all kinds of methods to influence the absolute trust they placed in him, and as we see even today."

In order to get to the heart of the matter, we need to return to the shooting incident, where the campaign of persecution and framing against the Rav actually began. According to an investigation and according to the testimonies of those involved, it concerns 2 chassidim who were hurt by the words of that 'self-proclaimed chassid,' and they beat him. In response, he called his brother and together with others carried out a shooting on 15/2/2013 into the Richter family home. In the family home were the parents and their children and Rav Berland’s grandson, whose legs the bullets passed near. The event was filmed on security cameras that clearly show their organization near the Richter family home.

"In retrospect, it was discovered that the suspect in the shooting also involved his brother, his wife, and his parents in obstructing a police investigation and giving false testimonies. Everyone was involved in committing the crime as emerged from the testimonies in the police investigation." That same person involved in the evidence material tells me: "The suspect in the shooting, that same one who claims to be an avrech, has been telling since July 2012 about a woman, but there is no supporting testimony for this. During the entire period, he did not say this, because according to their testimonies to the police, he and his wife claim that two days after the event, after he saw the woman. The complainant and his wife did not approach the police on their own initiative, but he arrived as a suspect in illegal possession of a weapon, carrying out a shooting in a built-up area, and threats while endangering human life. The 'self-proclaimed chassid' implicated his entire family, some in carrying out the shooting and some in obstructing an investigation, including his wife. From here stems his wife’s testimony against the Rav. She is the only life raft for both of them to escape the fear of the law."

Facts on the ground: The 'self-proclaimed chassid' was sentenced to only 6 months of community service. His other life raft is that in a statement to the police from 16/2/2013, he claims that the Rav sent the 2 avreichim to beat him, but anyone who observed the testimonies of the chassidim saw clearly that there is no evidence that Rav Berland sent them. The opposite. One of the chassidim admits in his last statement to the police clearly that he lied to his friend when he told him that the Rav asked that we beat the 'self-proclaimed chassid' and break his bones. When asked why he lied, his answer was that he wanted the second chassid to join him, therefore he told him so. In his statement to the police, he said to the Rav that the complainant is hurting them when he insults and defames the Rav. The Rav answered him that he is a miserable person and needs to be treated in the sense of mercy and not in the sense of pity." The avrech who spoke with me refused to continue and detail significant points that would prove beyond any doubt that that 'self-proclaimed chassid' and his wife were actually instructed by the Rav’s extreme opponents, and the shooting event is what led him to a tangle of lies and manipulations, and those are putting it mildly.

Global Antisemitism

The Rav’s travels in the world were done with his Israeli passport. The first stop was Switzerland, from there to the USA, back to Switzerland, again leaving Switzerland for Morocco, and from Morocco to Egypt. From Egypt to Zimbabwe and from Zimbabwe to South Africa - Johannesburg. From Johannesburg to the Netherlands, and there he was arrested and released on bail."

After the release, the Rav fled when his loyalists flew him to South Africa. Since in every country he arrived in, including in Israel, biased publications were released that define the Rav as a rapist and pedophile, while committing an inhumane character assassination and the claim that the Rav called to blow up the Temple Mount. That same person involved in the evidence material and the reasons for the Rav’s escape from the Netherlands tells me: "The Rav’s opponents created and are still creating destructive articles bordering on destructive incitement, while streaming false information sent to newspapers all over the world. When they released the article with a picture of the Rav at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the news that the Rav is calling to blow up the Temple Mount, and when they show the Rav the article and he reads the responses of the talkbacks, extreme Muslims called to harm the Jewish community in the Netherlands and in Europe. In order to prevent bloodshed, the Rav decided to flee the Netherlands, while instructing his chassidim to leave the place immediately and fly to Uman."

In my transatlantic phone conversation with Rav Berland in Johannesburg, I asked him why he fled the Netherlands when he had two appeal courts available to him in the trial in the Netherlands; his answer was simple: "To prevent bloodshed." Following the article and the antisemitic incitement that received the information from the Rav’s opponents. Immediately after the article, a month and a half later, rabbis were attacked in Belgium, in the Netherlands, and even terror attacks occurred in France, at 'Hyper Cacher.' According to sources who were in the Netherlands at that time, that same terrorist who blew himself up at 'Hyper Cacher' showed one of the cashiers before the attack the article that came out about the Rav who called to blow up the Temple Mount.

Even though during all the time of Rav Berland’s travels in the world, an international arrest warrant had not yet been issued against him, and in every country he arrived in, his opponents took care to pass false information to the local journalists. Also in Israel, the national media did not rest on its laurels. A directing hand took care that publications would be distributed also in every country the Rav stayed in. The publications that came out in timing were biased, so that every time the Rav wanted to return to Israel, publications would come out against him contrary to the true suspicions. As noted in the request for the extradition order. The charges against the Rav are, as mentioned, at the lowest threshold of offenses that exist in the section of sexual harassment. The publications that came out in the world spoke of rape, pedophilia, and sexual perversion, in order to frighten the Rav so that he would continue his travels in the world. The goal was unequivocal – to present him as a fugitive from the law enforcement authorities in Israel, when in reality the Rav did not flee but was persecuted by those same elements who tried to cause him to lose faith in the law and judicial system in the State of Israel.

Divide and Conquer

The tectonic plates in Breslov Chassidut are beginning to move nervously. The ground is shaking under the feet of Rav Berland’s extreme opponents who do not like the segment of Sephardic returners to teshuvah, which covers, as mentioned, more than 80% of the 'Shuvu Banim' community. If only the founder of the Breslov community, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, had known what I know today. After conversations with chassidim, reading countless testimonies, hearing countless tapes, and watching videos that reveal all the intrigues, all the whispers, and the plots that are done in the inner rooms of his community.

If only Rebbe Nachman of Breslov had known what is happening in the magnificent community he founded and established with great suffering in the exile, his mind would not have been at ease. Nothing prepared me for this either, for the jarring final chord in the last chapter of my research about one of the most beloved communities in the Israeli public. The scales of justice trembled, and the hammer of discovery struck with all its might. I entered into the core of the dispute, the one that everyone is trying with all their might to hide from the public’s eyes, and believe me, it was not easy. As I was exposed to authentic materials and documents, so I dove deep into the core. I sank deep into the swamp of the dispute that the extreme opponents created against Rav Berland and his community. A murky swamp that is well hidden from the eyes of the Israeli public and the community, the one that is reserved only for the select few who stir within the Holy of Holies.

To understand what caused the problem and what is the magnitude of the opposition of those who disagree with the Rav and his extensive community, one must go back to the beginning of the dispute, the one that separated the Rav from his community for 10 years. A dispute that began in Mea Shearim against Rabbi Eliezer Berland and his community and is currently standing somewhere inside a small and narrow cell in the prison in Johannesburg. There, from the depths of the darkness of the ideology and the doctrine of the extreme opponents, parts are revealed to me like an onion skin, the smell emanating from which is not pleasant to me at all. When I look at the pictures of those opponents jumping for joy, pictures such as those that once captivated my heart, I felt immediately replaced by a feeling of disgust. If these are the faces of the descendants of the great Rebbe... then if a fire has fallen among the cedars, what will the hyssop on the wall say?

And I, a hyssop on the wall that I am, enter into the heart of the matter, and what I discover there will not please my readers. Immediately I will reveal and highlight to you the method of operations of the opponents of Rav Eliezer Berland and his community, by the method of facts and substantiation. After I managed to get my hands on tapes that are unequivocal, like a real earthquake, I will prove to you the differential work method they used, the extreme opponents, with the goal of destroying Rav Berland’s good name and his community, to the point of an attempt to frame him for the suspicions for which he is accused today.

"Far from Breslov without a Common Denominator"

At the head of the opponents of Rav Eliezer Berland stands an extreme group of chassidim of Eastern European descent, who do not like the Rav’s actions. The one who brought close to him and to Breslov Chassidut masses of returners to teshuvah from the Sephardic community and Breslov chassidim for generations. From here begins hatred and baseless jealousy. I managed to get my hands on a two-and-a-half-hour tape that was recorded secretly in a Torah lesson. One of the heads of the opponents, on whose doctrine all of Rav Berland’s opponents act, was recorded in a Torah lesson. When I heard the tape, I could not believe my ears. This happened during a Torah lesson of A.H. that was held a few weeks ago in Beit Shemesh.

A.H. was teaching his chassidim from the weekly Torah portion, while seasoning and peppering the lesson with very clear motifs of jealousy, hatred, and racism directed toward Rav Berland and the Sephardic segment in the community and in general. "Filth that entered us. They defiled all the oils." "They are far from Breslov and there is no common denominator between us," A.H. is heard saying on the tape. "The Tikkun HaKlali circus that the Rav would do in Uman when tens of thousands were around the Rav."

"We must reach all the places and fight him." (Rav Berland) "It is our duty to denounce them from the People of Israel. It is a mitzvah to denounce these villains." It was also said on the tape: "Sabbateanism is developing," "a cult of heretics that remind one of the Arabs. There is no such concept that we cling to a tzaddik who has passed from the world." In another section, I was silenced when I heard A.H. saying to his chassidim: "Nothing will remain of this place 'Shuvu Banim.' It must be burned out." Rabbi Eliezer Berland is not the only one mentioned in the defamation campaign heard on A.H.’s tape. Even about the Moharash of Yavne, zt"l, he did not spare: "Some of his pamphlets are nonsense," he said. A.H. also speaks against Rabbi Avraham Sternhartz, zt"l, a matter I do not want to raise in writing, and also against one of the poskim of the generation who lives in Bnei Brak.

The method by which A.H. operates does not shy away from any means of insult and clearly touches on racism, denunciation, humiliation, insults, and an attempt to erase an entire public and declare them a cult of Sabbateans. Also on the affair of the book that Rav Berland denounced, A.H. has something to say in the lesson. In that same lesson, A.H. speaks about a book and tries to attach it, and the sayings written in the book, to Rabbi Eliezer Berland and his community. A.H. knowingly violates one of the ordinances of Chazal, 'one who whitens his friend’s face in public,' and that is only the tip of the iceberg.

Kabbalistic Traits

Two Breslov chassidim are known as the Rav’s opponents for years upon years. The two act against him in everything related to the matters of mass return to teshuvah and the trips to Uman. Their actions are motivated by baseless hatred and baseless jealousy. Four years ago, the two incited the 'self-proclaimed chassid' and instructed him with great precision how to act against Rav Berland. The two, who had a hidden goal, used to attach Kabbalistic traits to the Rav; they would say to women: "Did the Rav touch you? Then you are in the World of Atzilut." Their goal was to cause the women to believe that the Rav is sanctifying them with holiness when he touches them, as if he is giving them a blessing. This also emerges from the testimony of one of the complainants to the police, the wife of that 'self-proclaimed chassid.' With this method, the two tried to put into the women’s heads enthusiasm for the Rav, so that the enthusiastic women would add more things that did not exist in reality.

The goal was to show that the Rav acts through a pattern of behavior, in terms of 'there is no smoke without fire,' and to convict him before the trial, as the four women did directly and indirectly. Thus, the two went and tried at that time to trap ten women and frame the Rav. To strengthen their version and ignite a flame, they had to also activate the 'self-proclaimed chassid' to spread the story about the woman he saw in the Rav’s room. This story was supposed to shake the Rav’s resilience in his community. When the plots did not succeed for them, the 2 chassidim who oppose the Rav closed and isolated Rav Berland in his house for three weeks. The two exploited the fact that the Rabbanit did not live in the house.

During this period, the Rav lived under threats, torture, and extortion, and confessions were extracted from him by force. One of the chassidim impersonated the Rav and would imitate his voice on the phone, spoke with women, and would say to them: "If T. and Y. come to you, tell them that I did such and such to you." The conversations that were allegedly conducted between Rav Berland and the women were recorded, and the two extracted from the Rav confessions that match the conversations of H. when he impersonated the Rav. These tapes were played to many people within the Rav’s community with a clear goal: to undermine the Rav’s leadership in his community and to create complainants. The two went to dozens of rabbis and asked to play these tapes for them. Most refused to listen and rejected them, and thus they managed to trap the four complaining women, both directly and indirectly.

From listening to an authentic tape, a woman (her name is kept in the system) was heard talking to two other people (their names are kept in the system). On the tape, the woman testifies how she heard a phone conversation of the opposing chassid with a certain person who is involved in the framing of the Rav, when Y.H. imitates Rav Berland completely: "Unbelievable how he imitates the Rav. Really spot on," she said. The woman tells about a gathering that was in a certain house, to where the two would arrive to plan in secret the framing of Rav Berland. In my conversation with a chassid who is well-versed in the details, he says absolutely that the tapes are forged and edited. Tapes in which part of the Rav’s voice is heard, and part of it is clearly heard how Y.H. imitates the Rav. Also in my possession are affidavits of four people who rescued Rav Berland from the clutches of the two, during the period they closed him in his house. The chassid tells me that when they arrived at the Rav’s house, the first sentence he said to them was: "You saved my life. They want to kill me. They want to erase me and fly me abroad to exile."

The four chassidim hurried to remove the two from the Rav’s house. After a short period, the two managed, together with others, to bring four innocent women who had been to visit the Rav in the past, at different times to receive a blessing from him. The women were persuaded to distort and add to their testimony things that had not happened. That same chassid who is well-versed in the details and the evidence material told me: "For three and a half years, the 2 chassidim have been working to frame the Rav on the subject of sexual harassment. In recent weeks, they have been working even harder to tarnish the Rav and his community among rabbis regarding the book. Their goal is to declare Rav Berland and his community a cult of Sabbateans, even though they know for a fact that the Rav and his community have no connection to the book." That same chassid adds and says: "If they had had real things, both on the subject of the women and on the subject of the book, according to Torah opinion, they should have approached a Beit Din. But since they know that in Beit Din their baseless hatred, jealousy, lies, and plots will be exposed, therefore they act like Korach and his congregation."

Another person who is not a chassid and does not belong to the community but is well-versed in the evidence, said: "I have the proofs of how the dispute over the Rav connects 15 and 20 years ago and more, over the matter of the mass return to teshuvah of the members of the Sephardic community to Breslov, to the isolation of the Rav from his community for 10 years, to the big explosion that released the Rav and his community from the quarantine, from about four years ago, to his framing on the matter of sexual harassment and the sale of the yeshiva’s assets." He added and said: "All four women complaining to the police, and the testimony of the 'self-proclaimed chassid' who saw the Rav with a woman. The traces of the 2 chassidim who oppose the Rav are there, every single one. At the right time and at the right moment, the things will be exposed in court if there is an indictment. Let it be clear that in court, everyone who goes up to the witness stand will be embarrassed and surprised against real evidence and not stories and legends." At the end of our conversation, I let my interlocutor hear the tape of A.H., in which he said that the Rav and his community should be declared heretics since the Rav’s community covers for him and his actions. My interlocutor said: "At the time they disgraced the Rav over the last few years, authentic and tangible materials were collected, which if published, will constitute an earthquake among the Haredi world and among the Breslov rabbis and will expose everything they cover up and hide."

It is clear to me that the Rav is against this, but it is not impossible that those same people will not forgive the honor of Rav Berland and will expose what they have in their possession. My interlocutor: "The Badatz and the Breslov rabbis and notables must instruct the 2 chassidim to stop immediately the campaign of racism, incitement, jealousy, and hatred against the Rav and his community since they are liable to bring a disaster upon themselves." My interlocutor emphasized that they have no claims against the Badatz, notables, and Breslov rabbis, and these things are said on his opinion alone and not on the opinion of the Rav.

Dreyfus Trial

As I penetrate into the heart of the matter, wandering in the depths of a dense forest, inside a huge pile of documents placed before me, I am amazed to discover another document and another new and surprising one. It turns out that since Rav Berland left the country, more than 5,000 articles have been written and distributed in the country and in the world about the Rav. Apart from shaming and a campaign of defamation that includes passing judgment and a media lynching, it is an astronomical and unbelievable number of clearly unflattering articles. Articles that are all hair-raising slanders that immediately arouse wonder in me. Articles written against the Rav in hundreds and thousands of giant headlines in the written and printed press.

Giant headlines on internet sites that give everyone immediate access to receive information, usually incorrect information about the Rav. Never before has such a persecution campaign been carried out against any personality in the world. A persecution campaign that very much resembles the Dreyfus trial. But through these articles, I discover another and very important thing that causes me to raise an eyebrow: the Rav’s travels in the world are accompanied by about 300 Breslov families, women, men, and children. It is a community of chassidim loyal to the Rav even in his difficult hours. Chassidim who are around him constantly, despite the accompanying difficulties, which also include livelihood difficulties that the chassidim do with devotion in order to stay in the presence of their Rav. Despite and in spite of the slanders. Thus are Rav Berland’s chassidim in terms of "the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and spread."

But not only chassidim and associates cling to Rav Berland with endless loyalty. Also a group of thousands of the People of Israel arrive at the Rav wherever he is in order to be with him on Sabbaths and holidays. When I document this, something simply does not fit in the scheme. I ask myself how is it possible that as the unflattering articles about the Rav are distributed to the four corners of the heavens, so more and more people revolve with devotion around the Rav and point toward him with their feet. It is about thousands of chassidim who choose to tie their fate with Rav Berland without partiality.

The Greatest Rabbis Praise Rav Berland

Not only the People of Israel and the Rav’s loyalists point with their feet, also great rabbis in the country have something to say about the wonderful Rav Berland. They tell of a group of people who went to Rabbi Yaakov Kanievsky and asked him to boycott Rav Berland because he brings all kinds of secular people to Bnei Brak and it does not suit them. Rabbi Kanievsky answered them with great patience: "Be careful with the honor of Rav Berland, he is the pillar of fear of Heaven in this generation."

A year after Rav Berland left the country, the Spinka Rebbe shlit"a told his chassidim: "Rabbi Eliezer Berland brought tens of thousands to teshuvah, and therefore it is not to be wondered that the Sitra Achra is fighting him, and they are framing him with false accusations." When his chassidim asked for the meaning of the matter, he added: "Rabbi Aharon the Great of Karlin passed away at a young age, 36, because he brought thousands to teshuvah and the S.M. fought him. In every generation, the tzaddikim who bring to teshuvah, the Sitra Achra fights them."

When the Kabbalist, Rabbi Chaim HaKohen "HaChalban" (The Milkman), was asked what his opinion is on Rabbi Eliezer Berland, he warned and said: "Whoever speaks about the Rav is playing with fire and his tongue will be stretched. Like the sin of the spies, and you will see that they were already punished when they spoke about him on Galei Tzahal, immediately a helicopter fell and two pilots died and a journalist was run over, and who knows what will happen if they do not stop speaking about the Rav. The Rav forgives his honor, but in Heaven, they are strict about his honor."

After Rav Berland left the country, Rabbi Yitzchak David Grossman said: "Rav Berland is very missed by us in the country, you have a Rav who is a holy of holies, and I occasionally speak with him on the phone, and I have stories that I am not allowed to reveal how much I know he is great."

"Rav Berland is such a tzaddik that everyone receives from him, the intermediate tzaddikim and even the wicked," said Rabbi David Abuhatzeira. "In every country he goes to, he immediately brings down completely new lights." The Kabbalist, Rabbi Brenner shlit"a from Machane Yehuda: "It will take me a whole week and I will not be able to explain what complete moves Rav Berland is making, and whoever holds on with him will later merit great salvations. A Rav who is great both in Pshat and in Kabbalah, and everything he does are secrets of the Geulah."

The Kabbalist Rabbi Golan shlit"a: "Rav Berland has long since completely nullified the material, and all his matters now are to connect Mashiach ben David and Mashiach ben Yosef together. When he returns, everyone will see his greatness doubly and triply."

The Kabbalist Rabbi Scheinfeld, who is an enthusiastic student of the Chalban, told those coming to the grave of Shimon HaTzaddik: "The Chalban already said several times dates of Geulah and in vain, so he answered: What can I do that the holy Rav Rabbi Eliezer Berland changes everything, all the plans. I see decrees and suddenly the Rav takes exile, travels to Morocco, and receives humiliations and changes through this all the moves in Heaven. Because apparently he is working so that the Geulah will come in mercy."

The avrech Nachman M. from the yeshiva visited the Gaon HaTzaddik the Kabbalist Rabbi David Chaim Stern shlit"a from Bnei Brak. Before he entered his room, the attendant told that Rabbi Stern saw our teacher the Rav shlit"a as one of a kind in the generation, and told that about a year ago he said that a terrible decree was about to be, Heaven forbid, from the enemies of Israel. Rabbi Stern told people that they no longer need money and it is better that they give everything to tzedakah, because soon there will be such chaos in the world that money will not count for anything. A day passed and another day and nothing changed, until our teacher the Rav shlit"a took upon himself the humiliation to atone for all the People of Israel and went into exile abroad, and then Rabbi Stern said that the decree was canceled. And in addition, he said that if there had been tzaddikim during the Holocaust who would have taken upon themselves such humiliation, then there would not have been a Holocaust, but none of the tzaddikim who lived then could stand such a test. Afterward, when the avrech entered his room, he told Rabbi Stern that Rav Berland is isolating himself in dangerous forests and jungles full of predators, which to enter there one must use a weapon and be in an armored jeep; this was during the period the Rav was in a hotel in the jungle. Rabbi Stern asked him: "What are they, the animals doing - bowing?" And he said: "This is because of his terrible holiness! They have no control over him, not the animals and not the human beings."

Rabbi Ofer Erez shlit"a said about Rav Berland that he broke the fear completely and told that the Rav once walked in Russia and suddenly very dangerous dogs ran at him, and instead of the Rav running away from them, he started running toward them, and they turned around and ran away.

They also tell of a pregnant woman who became ill and was in danger of life, she and her fetus. Her husband approached Rabbi Galinsky to ask him for a blessing, and Rabbi Galinsky blessed him and said: "Travel to Jerusalem to Rav Berland, he is a master of salvations." The husband traveled to Rav Berland, who told him to come on Shabbat for prayer at the yeshiva at the time they sing the song "Zera Chaya VeKayama" in "Yekum Purkan." It is known that the Rav sings this every Shabbat, before the Musaf prayer at least half an hour; many people were saved by virtue of this, barren women were blessed with children, and sick children were healed. And so it was. The husband arrived on Shabbat to the yeshiva and his wife was healed and the fetus was born healthy and whole.

The Secret Letter

They tell of Rabbi Shmuel Horowitz who traveled to Uman and Lublin and met there the elders of Breslov from the previous generation. For 3 years, Rabbi Horowitz collected letters written by the tzaddik Rabbi Avraham ben R' Nachman zt"l, and returned to Israel to print them. These are letters that were printed in an important book written by A.B.H. shlit"a, who asked to remain anonymous. In the book, the story of Rabbi Getzel Avraham was distributed, who came out of the mikvah and after he put on the Shabbat clothes, a spirit of holiness rested upon him and he said to his chassidim: "In a jubilee of years, a youth will arise, beautiful of appearance and good to look at, who will renew the matter of 'our Rebbe' with a new thing that there has not yet been such a wonder. This will make a very great revolution for the matter of the Geulah and great good for the whole world."

Rabbi A.B.H. shlit"a is a rabbi of a Breslov synagogue in the center of the country and teaches lessons all over the country. The Rabbi said that when he saw the letter, he said that everything fits very much to Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, and apparently R' Avraham ben R' Nachman meant Rav Berland who was born after a jubilee of years and was a "youth beautiful of appearance and good to look at" and renewed the matter of "our Rebbe" with a new thing.

In addition to the spirit of holiness that R' Avraham ben R' Nachman had, as is known, he had in his possession the book "Megillat Setarim" from "our holy Rebbe," where the whole process of the coming of the Redeemer is written, what will be and how it will happen. They say that "our Rebbe" commanded that the matter remain a secret until the appropriate time, and only one in a generation would be allowed to hold it. The Raban hinted several times at things written in the scroll, and this is, in their opinion, apparently one of the things that gives the chassidim to understand why Rabbi Shmuel Horowitz expressed himself about Rav Berland in this way.

With a hand on my heart and full disclosure, I thought to end the investigation on a slightly more optimistic note, but then I remembered my conversation with Rav Berland and the pogrom he told me about, on the day they tried to arrest the Rav for the law enforcement authorities in Johannesburg. Several Jews who did not like the presence of the Rav and his community chassidim in their city, acted against them brutally. This happened on 22/1/16, 13 Shevat, on the night of Shabbat Shira. The families were in the midst of singing when about 30 local police officers accompanied by Interpol officers entered the compound where the Rav and 300 of his community members were staying, in order to catch the 80-year-old Rav. The police broke into 100 rooms in the compound with drawn weapons and machetes, overturned beds and closets, and carried out a pogrom that reminds one of the pogroms they did to Jews in the exile. A great commotion and great panic arose in the compound. The Rav’s people screamed in hysteria, pregnant women were frightened and suffered early contractions, and their children were frightened and shrieked in great fear.

One of the community’s children choked from fear, was rushed to the hospital in a difficult respiratory condition, and to our great sorrow, he did not survive and passed away on the eve of the seventh day of Passover. In my possession are affidavits about the event, and as I peruse them, I cannot help but ask myself: How many people were needed to catch an 80-year-old Rav? How does it happen that Jews in the exile hand over Jews to the authorities? I was left speechless.

In a conversation with my interlocutor who is well-versed in the details of the evidence, he tells me that by reviewing the request for the extradition order and the evidence accompanying it. In the testimonies of the 'self-proclaimed chassid' and his wife, and the affidavits they gave and additional facts that are in our possession, we managed to unravel the plot that was woven against the Rav. Also in the evidentiary complex and as the additional testimonies in the file become clearer, if an indictment is filed, they will only strengthen more the plot that was woven against the Rav, and it is not impossible that in the coming days they will be transferred to the law enforcement authorities for a re-examination of the suspicions and accusations against Rav Berland. When I ask my interlocutor to detail for me additional details about the facts and suspicions, he answers: "The facts were delivered to the law enforcement authorities and not through the media. We have no doubt that the new facts will be examined fairly and honestly."

In part 2 of the investigation, I will give expression to the extradition request that is currently standing against Rav Berland and the deficiencies that exist in the request. I will also give expression to the testimonies of the 'self-proclaimed chassid' who is defined in the media as the 'central witness' and of his wife, and I will point out the contradictions that exist in the testimonies. In part 2 of the investigation, I will also reveal affidavits that shed new light on the whole affair.