The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Thursday 12 Elul 5772 ordered the release of Asra Kadisha official Chizki Kalmanowitz. Kalmanowitz was released with restrictions, a five-day house arrest and a 50,000 NIS bail.
Kalmanowitz, a resident of Beit Shemesh, was arrested in connection with the theft of bones from an archeological site in Beit Shemesh.
YWN-ISRAEL has learned from a family member that Kalmanowitz was not even in the country when the alleged crime was committed and authorities are aware of this. Nevertheless, they feel that can use the opportunity to besmirch his name. Family members explain he was abroad ‘on a mission of chessed’, adding he is always involved in acts of chessed and it is most unfortunate that he is portrayed in the media as a thug.
When his home was raided during the predawn hours earlier in the week, authorities took many items from the home, including a sum of cash, a large sum according to the family. Only after his wife shouted that they are leaving her with no money to feed her family did police give her some money back.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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One Response
There is something wrong with this story. I have no problem believing that the Israeli police are determined to get Kalmanowitz and will stop at nothing to do so. However everyone who exits and enters Israel has that movement logged in real time in the Interior Ministry’s computer system. However I am not prepared to believe that any Israeli Judge who was presented with evidence, supplied from the Government’s computers, that the alleged perpetrator was not in the country at the time of the offence, would hold him in jail or do anything other than immediately dismiss the charges. Something is missing from this report.