Arabs surveilled the apartment and schedule of an elderly couple in Bnei Brak and then violently broke into the home when the wife was alone and stole money and valuables.

B’Chadrei Chareidim spoke to the victim, who revealed the frightening details of the incident.

Chaya, in her 80s, is a resident of the Ganei Warsaw neighborhood in Bnei Brak. Her husband had just left to Shacharis shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday when she heard a knock on the door.

“It was very early, and I was wondering who would be knocking at such an hour,” Chaya told B’Chadrei.

“At first, I ignored it, but they knocked again, this time very loudly. That raised my suspicion but nevertheless, I went to the door. When I opened it, there were two men in orange clothing who looked like gas company employees. They said they came to check if everything was normal with the gas system.”

“I told them I don’t have gas at home, that I don’t use it, but they just forced themselves inside. One of them pushed me against the wall while the other began asking questions and searching for something. I thought to myself – what are they looking for? Why are they here?”

“At that moment, I was sure it was a terror attack. I thought they had come to slaughter me. They looked frightening, and I didn’t understand what they wanted from me. One of them put his hand over my mouth and pressed me hard against the wall, while the other asked where the bathroom was. He followed me and I started thinking: maybe he has a knife, and he’s going to kill me.”

Threatening her with violence, the two demanded money and jewelry. “I told them there was money in the kitchen – 5,000 shekels that my husband had given me the day before. But that wasn’t enough for them. They started ransacking the house – drawers, closets, everything. They even stole money that belonged to a gemach, which was in a drawer. I didn’t understand how they knew exactly where to look.”

Chaya said she thinks that the Arabs have been observing her apartment for a long time: “I’m sure someone sent them. They knew that my husband leaves early in the morning for Shacharis and that I was home alone. It was planned. They came at exactly the time I was most vulnerable.”

The terrifying incident lasted about 20 minutes, during which the Arabs took not only money but also jewelry, checks, and cell phones. “At the end, they tried to lock me in my room. I begged them not to. I told them I had a broken back and a broken leg, that I couldn’t handle it. I told them: ‘I won’t tell the police, take the money and leave.'”

After the Arabs finally left, Chaya called her neighbor who summoned the police. “Five officers arrived and began to investigate,” she said. “We suspect it might be connected to a person who recently worked for us. A similar incident occurred in another place where that person worked. We suspect he sent them because they knew too many details about us.”

Chaya requested to convey a message to the public: “What happened to me can happen to anyone. Never open the door to anyone – even if they claim to be from the electric company, gas, or any other company – until you ensure they are who they say they are. I want people to learn from the difficult experience I went through.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)