"We are Character Witnesses..."

2 Kislev 5777

This post is dedicated l'iluy nishmat my safta, Nazira Cohen Mizrahi, z"l. Unfortunately, I didn't know her - she passed when I was 2 years old and we were on the other side of the country from her (the US, not Israel...) - and I don't know her parents' names. She was born in Haifa in June 1900 as far as I know, and passed on 3 Kislev 5718.

I still have relatives in Haifa, but I have not had a chance to reach out for, or to, them. If anyone can help me put this puzzle together, please comment.
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R' Berland in court in South Africa, from the Randburg Sun. The article I linked to notes that while the charges against him are severe, he is not listed on Interpol. Hmmm.

The injustice continues in Israel at the behest of the nations, whose aim it is to destroy her, no matter how. One of their favorite targets is rabbis who manage to win secular Jews to observance. Rivka at Emunaroma.com threw down the gauntlet: "...when one of the leading Gedolei HaDor [R' Dov Kook of Tiveria] puts out a public statement clearly linking Rav Berland’s persecution by the Israeli government to these fires - no-one quoted it. No-one mentioned it."

Well, in my last post I linked to it, and now I will mention it, as fully as I can.

For the past several years the sweeping hand of Erev Rav injustice has come against Rav Eliezer Berland, loaded with invective, slander and libel (If the legal system here had proof, it would have been presented by now. They aren't known for hesitation, particularly when it comes to religious Jews. Apparently the "proof" they had previously hasn't held up to serious scrutiny; in fact, it hadn't met the burden expected of it in Holland and other places. It has gotten to the point that someone is trying to take all the Rav's videos down from YouTube based on false accusations of copyright violation. Shuvu Banim Yeshiva vouches for them on its Web site.). The news here (the voice of the Israeli government, or should I say "system"?) says one thing; some rabbis say another and other rabbis say yet other things (see this search for example). Along with all this, too many people trust the news above all else and haven't kept in mind that every report is hearsay. And a lot of people want to see him jailed until he dies, from the accusatory commentary I'm reading — which I won't link to. I would rather see real legal proceedings...if there are going to be any.

Torah basically commands that a judge not favor either a rich person or a poor one. It doesn't matter whether he is a rabbi, the prime minister or a garbage collector (and even though he could be much more): If he (whoever he is) is innocent, he shouldn't be in jail, and he shouldn't be harassed. The principle is that an innocent person should not be in prison, no matter if he (or she) is the simplest or the greatest; and there is no excuse good enough. The only way to find out is through a real trial, if there are real charges to be brought. Case closed.

The following people bear witness to the Rav's character, wholeheartedly believe he is innocent and that he should be permanently freed immediately. (I'm sorry only because I cannot compile a complete, comprehensive list.)

Apparently the government also does, since he has been freed several times, only to be put back into prison!

Absurd, right?

I am not speaking to people who uncritically believe every word out of a newspaper or TV presentation, no matter where it comes from in the world, even here in Israel. It is clear that they frequently, if not always, lie; furthermore, no matter what kind of society they live in, they mostly serve the government and ultimately the United Nations. And we know how much they love Israel, right?
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Bible Code Tables (VIDEO) from R' Matityahu Glazerson:
22 Nov 2016: Rabbi Berland Admits... [to what? and why?]
  1 Aug 2016: Accusation of Rabbi Berland - Erev Rav Rule

28 Jul 2016: Detention of Rabbi Berland in 5776 in Bible code
19 Jul 2016: R' Shimon Badani's statement: "Anyone speaking Lashon Harah about Rav Berland will inherit hell!"
30 July 2015: The Plot against Rabbi Eliezer Berland


Posted 3 May 2016:
Berland-Pinto-Erev Rav (some interesting insights into the case of R' Yosef Pinto as well)
Signs of Mashiach: Persecution of Rabbis
Last Sign before Mashiach: Libel against R' Eliezer Berland (expanded from the one just above)

13 Apr 2016: Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef to Breslov students: "Your Rabbi is a great and righteous man..."


Other Articles in The Rav's Defense
  1 Dec 2016: Three lawyers plead with the Rav not to make a plea bargain

31 Oct 2016: Rav Chaim Reicher visits R' Berland in prison
  6 Apr 2016, Jerusalem Post: Setting the Record Straight about Rav Eliezer Berland


Dani18.com (the autistics)
6 Aug 2016: Rav Berland Live Shiur, 2 Adar B 5776 (Hebrew)
17 Sep 2016: a video was posted here but the original YouTube has been taken down: R' Berland is righteous, don't believe in lies! (Hebrew)

I could go on....but I think the point has been made. There's more if you care to search for it. Meanwhile, please pray for R' Eliezer ben Etya and that he, and we, will live to see justice done.

By the way, it seems to me that the Rav's parents' names, Hayim and Etya (עטיה) mean "Life" and "Pen of G-d" in Hebrew. Hmmm. May these meanings stand him in good stead.

11 Aug 2016: R' Dovid Chaim Stern testifies of R' Berland's character from a personal conversation with the Steipler Ga'on (Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky, zz"l), with whom the middle-aged R' Berland was a Torah-learning partner.

I want to thank Rivka Levy (emunaroma and other sites) for her help with my research for this post.

Shabbat Toledoth Shalom!