Channel 13 News reported on Tuesday about a strange phenomenon that’s been occurring recently in one of the wings of the Chermon prison, located in the Galil.

In the last few weeks, four separate incidents occurred when prisoners with no history of psychiatric issues suddenly “going crazy” and screaming that a “dybbuk” had entered them. The latest incident was on Tuesday when one of the prisoners had an outbreak, screaming for a half-hour that “there’s a soul inside me” and “they want to kill me.” Six prison guards tried to calm him down without success.

“These are normal people who have absolutely no background of psychiatric issues and suddenly they’re caught by a dybbuk and begin to go crazy,” a prisoner of the wing told Mako, an Israeli news website. “There are strange things going on in this wing.”

“Suddenly a prisoner that was with me in the cell began to go crazy, banging his head on the wall and screaming that he’s the Satan, that someone is controlling his body. It was very scary. He screamed for a long time. I tried to calm him down but it didn’t help. I was scared for my life because people who have a dybbuk enter them – you can’t predict their behavior.”

On Wednesday, an update to the story was reported. A source from the prison told a reporter that almost 40 prisoners slept in the prison corridors instead of their cells since they were so scared of the dybbuk. These are hardened criminals who are not easily frightened. The staff of the prison allowed it since they were still in shock from witnessing the phenomenon themselves on Tuesday.

Since it happened multiple times, the prison administration even reportedly consulted with the Rav of the jail, although the prisoners who experienced the attacks were Muslim. They also spoke to the prison’s sheikh (Druze religious leader).

After the story went public, former prisoners of the Chermon jail contacted Channel 13 News, stressing that the phenomenon is real and there have been complaints about it since 2010.

Attorney Walid Kabov, a criminal justice expert who represented some of the prisoners in that wing, stated: “These are known complaints that have surfaced many times. An in-depth clarification is needed as a large number of prisoners have made the same claim so it does not appear to be fabricated.”

Back in 2009, YWN published a story about a Dibuk in Brazil which caused alot of controversy. The individual was reportedly overtaken by mysterious voices in multiple languages – all without his lips not moving. The community was concerned, and the Mekubal from Yerushalayim, Rabbi Dovid Batzri was called and asked what he can do. Rabbi Batzri first made an attempt to remove the Dibuk on a webcam via Skype.

That didn’t work, so the individual was brought to Eretz Yisroel, and thousands of residents were given some free entertainment when Rav Batzri once again attempted to remove the Dibuk publicly in his Shul. Thousands of people gathered in the streets near Yeshivat Shalom, and watched and listened as Rav Batzri and a group of Mekubalim yelled “get out Dibuk!”, and repeatedly blew Shofars. Witnesses reported at the time that as the tzibur recited Shema and 13 Midos along with the mekubalim, two different distinct voices were heard from the young avreich.

In 2011, YWN reported that the man came forward and admitted that he spoke from his body. He says he learned all these languages before, and was never possessed by a Dibuk.

It is interesting to note, that at the time of the Brazil/Batzri Dibuk story, Maran Hagaon HaRav Elyashiv ZATZAL, Maran Hagaon HaRav Shteinman ZATZAL, and YBLCT Hagaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky all refused to meet with the individual who claimed he was possessed by the Dibuk. Additionally, Hagaon HaRav Moshe Sternbach had said that the man was most probably mentally ill.

YWN reported on another fake Dibuk story involving “Meubalim” in Elad in 2015. In that story, a well-known Rov in Elad released a scathing letter which read in part “There is much to be written on this topic among the mekubalim, some being baalei teshuvah from years ago and now delving into Toras Kabala, and they do not know their left side from their right regarding Torah and Halacha….This poor woman likely needs to be hospitalized in an appropriate facility, Hashem have mercy on her…”

And in March of 2019, YWN published another totally bizarre fake Dibuk story. That one involved a previously unheard-of before “Mekubal” who specializes in removing “Dibukim” from people.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)