President Shimon Peres has exhibited his compassion once again, this time towards a 71-year-old convicted kidnapper, a grandmother, who is serving a six-year prison term for abducting her grandchild.

Dr. Isabelle Belfer was convicted in a Tel Aviv court in 2007 for working with her daughter to abduct their granddaughter/daughter Lilach from her estranged husband Yarom. They fled to the country, prompting Yarom to file charges against them in the hope of getting his daughter back, who the two insist was taken away from Yarom because he was abusive.

At some point, Dr. Belfer returned to Eretz Yisrael, to care for her elderly mother, providing police with the opportunity to place her under arrest. Despite support from rabbonim in Russia who defended Belfer’s decision, explaining the dad was indeed a threat to the girl, the court saw the events in a different light and handed down the harsh sentence.

After her conviction, a number of people continued working on Dr. Belfer’s behalf until the matter reached the desk of President Peres, who used his clemency powers to bestow a large measure of leniency on the grandmother last week, granting a pardon. She was released and has since returned to Russia to join her family.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)