A meeting was held about three weeks ago in Maale HaChamisha near Jerusalem, the annual meeting of the volunteers of the PR people in the Merkaz Hatzoloh of the Eida Chareidis, focusing on efforts against the induction of chareidim into the IDF.

Police arrived at that event and event threatened to halt it. It is theorized that the arrival of police cars outside was done intentionally, hoping to pressure the host at the venue to cancel the event out of fear due to the police presence.

Under the guise of searching for inciteful materials that violate the law, materials against induction into the IDF, police entered repeatedly and disrupted the assembly.

Later, two detectives entered the hall, stood among the crowd and began to film what was going on in the area. The audience tried to hide from the camera with their Shtreimalach. Towards midnight, police tried to demand that the incident be stopped due to the late hour, as well as shortly after 1.00AM.

At the end of last week, a call was received at the offices of the Merkaz Hatzoloh, summoning individuals for questioning at the Mevasseret Tzion police station.

Attorney Nadav Gedaliah quickly sent a letter to the Investigations Department of the Harel-Mevasseret Tzion Police Station in an attempt to understand what the matter is.

“I represent the Union (Ichud) of Yeshivos in Israel. The NGO assists men and women in the chareidi sector in securing a draft deferment from the IDF induction centers, and it operates on a voluntary basis, wrote Gedaliah. On December 18th, the organization organized an event to raise funds and volunteers to expand the organization’s activities and recruit volunteers, an event held in the Maale HaChamisha banquet hall,” says attorney Gedaliah. During the event, an artistic performance was also presented.

“The private event was surprisingly interrupted by policemen from the Harel station, who were not invited and even started taking video footage of the event and the performance, while significantly harming the privacy of the event and the possibility of artistic freedom while sowing unnecessary panic among the participants in the event.”

“Some of the guests who were present in the hall left the event because of the disturbance on the part of the policemen of the Harel station, and others who thought they would come were deterred by the presence of the defiant policemen and they turned around. It should be noted that the chareidi tzibur, is naturally concerned about the privacy and homogeneity of events it conducts,” write attorney Gedaliah.

Attorney Gedaliah added that “despite repeated requests from my client and the organizers of the event, the police refused to leave the area, refused to stop filming what was going on, and even threatened to arrest my client and others if they interfered with police, and they threatened to shut down the event if they did not cooperate.”

Gedaliah continues, “In spite of the requests of the organizers, the police refused to present any judicial order allowing them to carry out their actions, and therefore it appears that they did not have such an order, so there is considerable doubt as to the legality of their actions and in the way, they were carried out.

“In addition to this, the organization and its representatives have suffered significant financial losses and great distress, and a serious violation of freedom of expression and art, freedom of congregation and assembly, and fundamental civil rights in our country.

“And if this was not sufficient, of late, a person phoned from a blocked number, identifying himself as a policeman to a representative of the organization, stating he is from the Harel station and summoned them for questioning in the station regarding the very same event. It appears it is not the representatives of the NGO who are acting unacceptably, but police in the Harel station.

“A member of the association, who believed that this was a hoax, handed over the phone to one of the organizers of the event who was present at the scene. He explained that they would of course cooperate with any legitimate demand of the Israel Police, but because he suspected that he was an imposter, he requested police send an official summons requesting their presence in the Harel station for questioning.

“In response, the caller said that he too – that is, the organizer of the event – was invited to the station to be questioned regarding the fundraising event. This surprising announcement, which came only in response to the request of the organizer of the event, whose friend is required for a wanted interrogation to send an official summons, was predicted to be the most astonishing, leading to increased suspicion that this was a hoax.

“In addition to the fact that an invitation by the organization’s representatives for questioning following the fundraising event will be very puzzling, in light of all the above, and without derogating from the rights of my clients to recover from the Harel police officers for the damages they caused, and to complain about their illegal activities in the Police Internal Investigations Unit, they also wish to reiterate their request here, in order to remove any doubt, and hereby announce that they will cooperate with any legitimate demand from the Israel Police.

“If so, my clients ask that, as far as they are required for investigation by the Israel Police, this will be clarified in an official document, and they undertake to report at the time and place required.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)