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A former official in the IDF’s Shachar program for chareidim has filed a lawsuit in a Ramle court against persons who were behind the publication ‘The Hunters’, exposing those involved in the recruitment of chareidim, affiliated with the Peleg Yerushalmi. There is a court-ordered ban on details identifying the person due to fear for his personal safety in the case.

The lawsuit addresses the pamphlet published against the recruitment of chareidim into the IDF, who have become known as ‘Chardakim’ by the Peleg and Eida Chareidis. The suit is based on a previous lawsuit filed by IDF reserve duty officer Yehuda Glickman, in which the Ramle Magistrate’s Court awarded Glickman NIS 650,000 as he was targeted in the campaign as deputy director of the Bnei Yeshivos Unit and targeted as the chief Chardak by the joint Peleg Yerushalmi/Eida Chareidis campaign. At that time, is was reported askanim from the Peleg and Eida who live in the USA and London would cover the costs of the fine.

The court ordered Yonah Martzbach and Shlomo Fein to pay NIS 200,000 each and Yechiel Blau to pay the additional NIS 100,000 because of the publication of the “You Are a Chardak” pamphlet. At the time, Glickman also enjoyed the backing of Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit.

Now, another former Shachar official is suing, seeking NIS 500,000. The lawsuit was filed by attorney Reuven Biton, who maintains the plaintiff dealt with the integration of chareidim into the military as head of the Shachar program, out of public mission and towards rehabilitating the chareidi youth who ‘dropped out’, known as ‘noshrim, by bringing them into the specially tailored unit for chareidim in the IDF.

The plaintiff maintains in the suit the publication of the pamphlet made his life increasingly difficult, and he is quoted in the publication as being responsible for recruiting chareidim into the “Army of Shmad”.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)