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After spending Shabbos in the Ramat Amidar neighborhood of Ramat Gan in a tent, the Yitzhar minor’s family set up a tent in Jerusalem on Monday, 28 Sivan in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood near Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav Kook. Noted rabbis and many residents of the neighborhood came to the tent to express support for the family and protest the order banning a 15-year old youth from his own home.

Tzfat Chief Sephardi Rabbi HaGaon HaRav Shmuel Eliyahu Shlita visited the tent on Monday, and said that the initiative of families of murdered terror attack victims to have the families of terrorists distanced by administrative orders did not succeed, whereas such orders are being served to Jews.

“The families of the victims of terror attacks murdered over the past year turned to the Prime Minister and demanded that the terrorists’ families be distanced by administrative order,” said Rabbi Eliyahu to the minor’s family. “[The authorities] told them that it was illegal and disproportionate and not fair and unethical, but with Jews they act like strongmen. This is backwards. Our Sages said that a man must be resolute against his enemies and merciful with his own people, not the opposite. We call on the Israeli government to be resolute against enemies and not against brothers and not to serve them with accusatory administrative orders, without a trial and without any proof,” said Rabbi Eliyahu and added that, “We very strongly support you.”

Rabbi Yosef Bedihi, who for many years was Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook’s ZT”L personal aide, accompanied Rabbi Eliyahu to the tent. Rabbi Bedihi expressed warm support for the family and said that, “Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda was the ‘first hilltop youth’, when at the age of 84 he participated in the first attempts to build Jewish communities in the Shomron [after the Six Day War] in Chawarah.”

On the morning of Tuesday 29 Sivan, Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira, Rosh Yeshivat Ohd Yosef Chai visited the tent and said that. “It is written about the Navi Elisha that he turned the bitter water to sweet. Also here we see how Elisha [the minor] and his family are taking a situation and turning it from bitter to sweet.” Rabbi Shapira added words of praise for the family and their steadfastness.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)