President Reuven Rivlin on Sunday, 7 Sivan, met with the Vishnitzer Rebbe Shlita, the Rachmastrivka Rebbe Shlita, Rosh Yeshiva HaGaon HaRav Baruch Dov Povarsky Shlita, Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, and Yitzchak Ravitz.
Interestingly, the meeting was held under a tight media blackout as President Rivlin is reportedly reaching out to leaders of the chareidi tzibur, preferring to do so as discreetly as possible. It is however reported the meeting surrounded the prolonged imprisonment of Mordechai Yitzchak Samet in the USA.
YWN reported on the Samet case back in 2011, explaining in 2002 he was convicted for money laundering and fraud totaling $3 million, all of which was reimbursed. After the jurors in the case could not agree to a unanimous verdict, there was a retrial and he was sentenced to 28 years imprisonment in a federal prison. An appeal was rejected in 2006.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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8 Responses
Obviously it wasn’t Sun, 7th of Sivan – that’s Yom Tov.
What else aren’t you saying?
A tight media blackout with a gallery of pictures for public consumption.
What connection is there between this meeting and Samet?
Sunday was 6 Sivan and was Shavuous (even in Eretz Yisroel).
It says nowhere that the rabbonim shlita drove to the meeting so it could have been Sunday afternoon and they walked over to Rivlin’s office. In any event, whether the meeting was held on Shavuos or motzi yom tov, its still not clear what the Samet event had to do with the meeting.
The meeting was the day after yom tov.
So with all the injustices going on in the world, this is for what they feel is most important to gather together to help?
“Rabbi Mordechai Samet. Samet, Kiryat Joel in New York State, found guilty in 2002 of illegally obtaining $4 million through a variety of schemes and frauds, including filing false death claims and soliciting money for fictitious lotteries”
Secular government punishments are very harsh and far far in excess of Torah mandated punishments and pidyun shvuyim certainly applies to people incarcerated on a secular conviction.