The Israeli Police Attempt to Coerce Rav Berland's Gabai in a Despicable Manner to Obtain a State Witness

The police in a desperate, disgraceful, and shameful attempt to coerce a state witness in the case of Rav Berland.

Yesterday marked another escalation in the police's attempts to fabricate incriminating materials against the esteemed tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a.

In a letter sent yesterday by Attorney Carmeli to the Commander of the Jerusalem District of the Israeli Police, Commissioner Doron Yadid, it was written, "This is a vile and illegitimate investigative tactic, whose sole purpose is to abuse the detainee and harm what is most precious to him, in order to break his spirit" (from the letter sent today).

Today, Attorney Carmeli, the lawyer of one of Rav Berland's gabai, announced attempts by the Israeli Police to extort his client in a disgraceful attempt to force him to falsely testify as a state witness against Rav Berland. The police used threats against this gabai, telling him that they would take his only son through the welfare authorities.

Apparently, the Israeli Police have "slightly" gotten carried away in their attempt to invent new evidence against Rav Berland - if there is so much evidence, why is a state witness needed at all?

The Israeli Police are trying to create a legal precedent where a rabbi who promises salvation in exchange for a redemption of the soul is judged as the lowest of criminals - this is a blatant interference in legitimate chassidic rabbinic leadership and part of an ongoing process of suppressing Jewish religious freedom in the State of Israel.

Even if sums of money were found in the bank accounts of his associates - Rav himself never had a part or control over these accounts and is disconnected from any use of bank accounts or credit cards of any kind - he always gave others everything he had - including all his cash - he simply does not need any money.

The Israeli Police understand that they have no evidence that the rabbi took money for himself, and therefore they are trying with Sicilian-Bolshevik mafia methods to threaten the rabbi's gabai to take his only child through the welfare authorities if he does not testify falsely against Rav Berland.

[caption id="attachment_37896" align="alignnone" width="482"] Articles covering the police's attempts to obtain a state witness using despicable mafia methods[/caption]

We have seen these disgraceful attempts also in the Bezeq case (4,000) of Netanyahu and Elovitch, in the criminal attempts by the Israeli Police to force Nir Hefetz to say false things about Netanyahu as a state witness.

In this case too, unfortunately, the media festival is celebrating and leading the Israeli Police like an obedient poodle to carry out media productions that serve as manipulations to sway public opinion against Rav Berland.

[caption id="attachment_37897" align="alignnone" width="482"] Articles covering the police's attempts to obtain a state witness using despicable mafia methods[/caption]

In fact, holding an elderly and sick person in full arrest conditions, including handcuffs, in a case of financial suspicions constitutes a cruel and dangerous precedent in suppressing citizen freedom in Israel.

If there is a slight concern of disruption and escape, it is definitely possible to suffice with particularly high bail, but full arrest conditions severely harm Rav Berland's health and literally endanger his life.

There should be an immediate order for the rabbi's release to house arrest and to manage the case in an orderly manner in court legally, and not through a frenzied media trial that infiltrates and leaks into the legal discourse and contaminates the judgment of the judges of Israel in general, and Judge Lari-Babli in particular, whose decision has not yet been overturned despite being given in the most repugnant and contaminated manner.