bs"d
Update: Meir Ettinger Latest update Administrative detention extended by Moshe Yaalon. See news item writeup in Arutz7 at end of this email. (Since many in Chareidi circles do not use the internet but do read emails I am embedding the links)
PS: bh Evyatar Slonim will be released from prison but still not totally free....
Lichvod HaRabbonim, Shlita
I am obviously no Posek, but I do have a big Zechus that I have lived in Kiryat Arba within close proximity to Chevron for several years. My energy and drive comes from the Ruach Acheret of Chevron.
It seems to me that here is an amazing opportunity for the Gedoilim BaTorah to be Mekayem multiple Mitzvoth d'Orayta.
Alternatively, I am afraid we will have to answer in a heavenly court and we will be held Chayav Bidei Shamayim for being silent when such an injustice is happening! Let us remember Kamtza and Bar Kamtza. It's not too late for us...Please don't turn a blind eye to the suffering of a fellow Jew....
Mitzvoth D'Orayta that obligates us to speak up on Meir Ettinger's behalf. Protest a miscarriage of justice!
1. Pikuach Nefesh physically and mentally. Meir Ettinger is surrounded by terrorists mamesh. He is in isolation in the highest security wing in Israel. He is on a hunger strike for 14 days to protest the conditions of his jail sentence. He is weak according to his wife.
2. Pidyon Shvuyim. How can we allow a fellow Jew waste away in Jail when there are no charges or evidence of wrongdoing to deserve it?
3. Rectfying Dibbah Raah, Slander about them. The media has spread blood libels against him. If he is guilty then let him be brought up on charges and have a hearing and a trial.
4. Al Taamod al Dam Rayacha. How can we be Silent when his blood is being spilled? Slandering a person is similar to spilling ones blood...
5. Show Ichpatiyut as per the Gedoilim's own directive. Please show Am Yisroel that the Gedoilim baTorah truly care about each and every fellow Jew even if they are not from their immediate circle. Ichpatiut is most valuable before someone gets hurt! Chas Veshalom we should wait and tragedy strikes....
6.Meir Ettinger is fighting for Torah, for a govt based on Torah, to actualize the Gedoilim BaTorah's resolution at Marienbad in 1937. Is our prayer Hoshiva Shofteinu keVarishona mere lip service.Since Moshe Yaalon extended the administrative detention for Meir Ettinger we must do whatever we can to protest and fight this evil decree. Apparently in Judea and Samaria there is only military rule of law. Is Yaalon a despot with absolute power over constituents of Judea and Samaria? Justice based on the whim of the Defense Minister who is above the law? Is there nothing in place to keep the Defense Minister in check?
What Rabbanim and Gedoilim BaTorah can do to rescind this Gezera
- Send an open letter Yaalon and Netanyahu and President Rivlin, protesting the extension of Meir Ettinger's administrative detention. (email addresses below in Libby Kahana's letter below)
- Counter the Dibbah Raah, the slander and blood libels against Meir Ettinger and the hilltop youth. Surely that would make a ton of difference. Even if the gov't harden's its heart, still up in Shamayim we would not be Chayav. This means that instead of Dibbah Raah we need to speak in a very positive way about Meir Ettinger and the hilltop youth. The Emes is that he and they are not Jewish terrorists, lehefech, they are righteous, genuine Yidden with deep love of Torah and Am Yisroel and Yiddishkeit. This positive speech would bring much awaited Achdus and unity between Dat Leumi and Chareidi communities. This will be mezakeh the Klal and surely Hashem will shep much nachas.
- Give words of chizuk to support Meir Ettinger's plea for a government based on Torah law that is not tainted and corrupted by politics. Any money received from the gov't to silence our sincere and genuine yearning for Malchus Shamayim, Malchus Beis Dovid and the Avodah in the Beit Hamikdash is blood money and should be seen as such.
Proverbs 3:17 states, "Deracheha darchei noam vechol netivoteha shalom – Its ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace."
Rabbanim: Please educate yourself regarding this matter and read Meir Ettinger's words belowJudge for yourself if he indeed is a terrorist.Again Lichvod HaRabbanim.... who am I to teach you words of Torah and please forgive me if I am too forward. But isn't there a Gemara in Baba Kama that talks about Grama that if a person has testimony and withholds it that they are Chayav Beyedei Shamayim? Can't the Rabbanim testify as experts in Halacha that they are, that according to Jewish Law, Administrative Detention, holding someone without charges or a trial and taking away their civil rights and inflicting them with physical and emotional abuse as has been practiced in Israel against these hilltop youth is against Halacha.Meir Ettinger's words to the Court: In the end you will repentBY MEIR ETTINGER ON SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 CAUSES, JEWISH IDENTITYThe following are the words of Meir Ettinger said during his hearing on Sep. 10th, 2015. This hearing was the third and final hearing that the court will hear before officially approving his administrative detention. It is important to note that receiving the approval of the court is a mere formality for administrative detention and does not involve an actual trial.I would like to speak before the court and have my words recorded in the minutes. At the same time, I reiterate that this is not because I recognize the authority of this court. I don't recognize the validity of laws that are against the Torah and I see no reason to defend myself against accusations based on false laws that were created by man today and will be changed by him tomorrow.Rather, because of our sins, instead of having a court based on the holy Torah, the word of G-d, we have been taken captive by false courts. These captors are the prosecution, the media, and the false courts of today that have waged war against the land of Israel, the Torah of Israel, and those who fear the G-d of Israel. Their goal is to foster the growth of a foreign culture in our midst to replace the way of the Torah and service to G-d in the land of Israel.It is therefore a Chazakah [predetermined]what this court will decide in this hearing. One way or another, the results are known in advance and I therefore have no desire to play a part in this game. It is merely a pathetic attempt by the government to pretend that their decision is based on justice and democracy.Nonetheless, this hearing provides me the right to speak and I will exercise the right to tell you what bothers you so much, what you are fighting, and what was the reason for my arrest.I cannot discuss in this short time all of the ridiculous media stories. According to the media, I am somehow the number one target of the Shabak.It should be noted that the targets of the Shabak are not established in order to preserve public safety or ensure calm, but instead are based on a political agenda and focus on protecting the culture of 'equality' that they force down the throats of the public.Therefore, instead of discussing 'public safety,' I will explain my activism and why my actions are so upsetting to the confused establishment.In their accusations they used the phrase, "changing the regime." So what does that really mean? What exactly is this mysterious 'group,' which I supposedly lead, doing to further that goal? The truth is that we are dealing with very basic statements that were made freely available to all. Yes, I admit it- I, like many other Jews, have dreams, hopes and desires of establishing the Kingdom of Israel. The 'group' I am a part of, was founded during the exodus from Egypt and the receiving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. There the Jewish people were chosen to be a nation of priests and a holy people in the land of Israel.So what is this 'Kingdom of Israel'? For 2000 years in exile, Jews around the world said in their prayers "Let me witness the return to Zion" and concluded with the words, "blessed is He who restores His glory to Zion." These Jews did not merely want to return to the land of Israel to build fields and buildings. They wanted more. They wanted to restore G-d's presence in the land by creating a state that would spread the name of G-d throughout the world.In the current 'Jewish' state, there is complete democratic freedom for all sorts of crazy ideas, except for Judaism alone which is declared illegal. In Israel today, the Torah's solution to security problems is racist, the Torah's views on international relations are incitement, and anyone who supports the Torah's opinion over the laws of the state is an anarchist. Those who struggle with love for the land of Israel are arrested and their homes are destroyed.In the State of Israel today we have leaders who do not understand the Torah and no one dares explain to them what a true Jewish state looks like, why the Jewish people to the land of Israel, and what right the Jewish people have to the land. Not only are we victims of this unfortunate situation, but you are too- you, the judge, and the prosecutor. All of us are captives of this reality. Each of us has a G-dly soul that wants to live a Jewish life and we all feel alone in our opposition to the state.Administrative detention orders were issued against me and other Jews not because of a concern for the good of the public as you [the government]have claimed. It is actually you who place no value on Jewish blood and thereby harm the public. You released terrorist murderers and removed checkpoints, both of which have placed many Jews in danger. One could hardly accuse you of caring for other Jews.We all know that the incident in Duma is merely being used as an excuse for dictatorial actions by a supposed democratic government. Fortunately for you, the public is so accustomed to your lies that they don't bother refuting them.Not for nothing did you gather all of the media to inform them before carrying out the orders. In truth the administrative detention orders are not meant to silence me, but to silence yourselves, to silence the Jewish voice emanating from your heart.Your hysterical actions and discrimination against Jews in enforcing the law, your shocking neglect for the values of democracy when dealing with Jews who love the land of Israel, appears strange to many people. However it is not strange to anyone who recognizes that these actions are done in order to silence your inner, yearning Jewish voice. This is part of your general schizophrenia. It is obvious that these actions will backfire and have the opposite result. You will not manage to silence the voice inside you, anymore than you could expel your Jewish soul from your body. In the end, even you will repent for your actions and your Jewish soul will take over to help bring the redemption.=====================================================================bs"dEnglish TranslationAn Open Letter to the Public: Written by Moria Ettinger, the Wife of Meir EttingerMy Brothers and Sisters, Am YisroelThe Way You Know Of My Husband Comes From Suppression Of True Discourse. The complete letter Moriah Ettinger, 17th day of Shvrat 5776, 01/27/16Have you ever heard of Meir Ettinger?Dangerous with horns?Let me paint you another picture.My husband, Meir Ettinger, is gentle, soft, shy and quiet. Entirely pleasant.He is the person who helps all friends, finds a child lost to its mother on the street and listens to those who need.He does not know how to yell or get angry, but above all, he is a Jew who seeks good for his people.For all of his life, his money, his time, his abilities and his honor, he has invested for the people of Israel.He is a person who does not see himself at all but rather the community.It's almost six months that he and two friends- Evyatar Slonim and Mordechai Meyer (who was released after five months in jail after it emerged that he was imprisoned due to misinformation) are in detention without trial, in solitary confinement in Beersheva. My husband was placed in the the most guarded wing in Israel, with absolute solitary confinement and severe restrictions. In adjacent cells to his are [Arab] terrorists who killed several Jews each.The way you have gotten to know my husband has been the result of suppressing real debate that he is trying to create for our nation.This silence is fear, a fear of words that are great and true. This same fear is one that has tried to silence all free thinkers who dared to go forward and lead our world to better places.This is the same fear that silenced Harav Kook, the giants of Chasidus, Yair Stern and others.And this fear presents you with a picture of my husband, a figure with horns, in order that you agree that this free spirit be shut in isolation behind bars, and so as not to continue the dialogue between you and her.Last Chanukah, when I lit Chanukah candles, all the neighbors came out as well.. they lit and proudly sang about the heroic and brave Maccabees. Everyone sang for these admired free thinkers. I looked you in the eye - My husband is a Maccabee just like them. Then why is he and his friends imprisoned, tortured and despised?In another week, the administrative detention which put my husband in jail will end. The order for his detention will end, but the desire to silence the man who speaks gently, measures and weighs each word before he utters them, will not end. The man whom from every book of his that you will open in his home, will drop scraps of paper in which are written densely packed reflections, parts of them songs/poems and thoughts of our Jewish life here.I am writing you this letter in order to share with you reality.To ask not to believe everything you've heard about Meir.The order is about to expire thank G-d, but they can extend it again, and it's up to us.It will depend on us how long we agree to continue to legitimize the silence of the most severe violence of all. The violence against true Jewish dialogue.That is the truth. This is not about him. This is us. How do we want our life to be.And until you can meet him and talk to him, I invite you to read his blog on HaKol HaYehudi, - and hear his ideas truly. Recognize the clear voice that wishes to invite Israeli discourse with real souls. It challenges us to new thinking, outside the box... I'm not unrealistic... I do not expect that after reading his blog, and be introduced to this, that you necessarily agree with all his ideas.There could be disagreements between us on the road and even on some of the goals. But it is clear to me that none of you would accept Jews treating other Jews in this manner.We all want our government to take care of security and settlement and instead [the government] restricts Jews and abuses some of them.I think once you get to know Meir, you will identify with his ideas, even if you do not agree with him, you will not be silent and you will help me to bring my husband home.Login to the website, read his blogs, circulate this letter and sympathize with me on Facebook "Jews do not torture Jews". "יהודי לא מענה יהודי"With Love of Israel, Moriah Ettingerאחי ואחיותי, עם ישראלאשתו של העצור המנהלי מאיר אטינגר במכתב גלוי לציבור: הצורה שבה אתם מכירים את בעלי היא תוצר של השתקה של השיח האמיתי. המכתב המלאמוריה אטינגר, י"ז בשבט תשע"ו, 27/01/16 21:54שמעתם פעם על מאיר אטינגר?המסוכן עם הקרניים?תרשו לי לצייר לכם ציור אחר.בעלי, מאיר אטינגר, הוא איש עדין, רך, ביישן ושקט. כולו נעימות.הוא האדם שעוזר לכל החברים, מוצא אמא לילד אבוד ברחוב ומקשיב למי שצריך.הוא לא יודע לצעוק או לכעוס, אך מעל הכל, הוא יהודי דורש טוב לעמו.את כל החיים שלו, הכסף, הזמן, הכישרונות והכבוד שלו הוא משקיע בעם ישראל.אדם שלא רואה את עצמו בכלל. רק את הכלל.כבר כמעט ששה חודשים הוא ושני חבריו- אביתר סלונים ומרדכי מאייר (ששוחרר לאחר חמשה חודשי מאסר לאחר שהתברר שנכלא עקב מידע מוטעה) יושבים במעצר מנהלי ללא משפט בבידוד בבאר שבע. בעלי נמצא באגף הכי שמור בארץ, בבידוד מוחלט והגבלות קשות. שותפיו לאגף בחדרים מצדדיו, הם מחבלים שרצחו כל אחד כמה יהודים.הצורה שבה אתם מכירים את בעלי היא תוצר של השתקה של השיח האמיתי שהוא מנסה לייצר בעם שלנו.ההשתקה הזאת היא פחד, פחד מהדברים הגדולים באמת. אותו פחד שניסה להשתיק את כל ההוגים החופשיים שהעזו ללכת קדימה ולהוביל את העולם שלנו למקומות טובים יותר.זה אותו פחד שהשתיק את הרב קוק, גדולי החסידות, יאיר שטרן ואחרים.והפחד הזה הגיש לכם ציור של דמות עם קרניים, כדי שאתם תסכימו שהרוח החופשית הזאת תהיה סגורה בבידוד מאחורי סורג ובריח, ולא יימשך השיח בינכם לבינה.בחנוכה האחרון כשהדלקתי נרות כל השכנים יצאו גם כן, הדליקו ושרו בגאווה למכבים הגיבורים והאמיצים, כולכם שרתם להוגים הללו בהערצה. הסתכלתי עליכם בעיניים כלות- הרי גם בעלי הוא מכבי כזה, אז למה הוא וחבריו כלואים מעונים ומבוזים?עוד כשבוע, ייגמר המעצר המנהלי שהכניס את בעלי לכלא. הצו יגמר, אבל הרצון להשתיק את האיש שמדבר בעדינות, מודד ושוקל כל מילה לפני שמוציא מפיו, לא יפסק. האיש שמכל ספר שתפתחו בביתו ינשרו פיסות נייר כתובים צפוף צפוף בהם כתב הגיגים, חלקי שירים ומחשבות על החיים היהודיים שלנו פה.כתבתי לכם את המכתב הזה על מנת לשתף אתכם באמת.לבקש שלא תאמינו לכל מה ששמעתם על מאיר.תוקף הצו עומד להיגמר בעז"ה, אבל יש באפשרותם להאריך אותו שוב, וזה תלוי בנו.זה תלוי בנו עד כמה תימשך הסכמת השתיקה והלגיטימציה שלנו לאלימות החמורה מכל.אלימות נגד שיח יהודי אמיתי.וזו האמת. לא מדובר בו. מדובר בנו. איך אנחנו רוצים שהחיים שלנו יראו.ועד שתוכלו לפגוש בו ולשוחח איתו, אני מזמינה אתכם לקרוא את הבלוג שלו באתר הקול היהודי - ולשמוע את רעיונותיו באמת. להכיר את הקול הצלול שמבקש להזמין את עם ישראל לשיח נשמות אמיתי. זה מאתגר אותנו בחשיבה חדשה, מחוץ לקופסה. אני לא פתטית. אני לא חושבת שאחרי שתקראו את הבלוג שלו, ותוודעו לדמות הזו, אתם בהכרח תסכימו עם כל רעיונותיו.יכול להיות שיש בינינו אי הסכמות על הדרך ואפילו על חלק מהמטרות. אבל ברור לי שאף אחד מכם לא מוכן שכך יהודים יתנהגו ליהודים.כולנו רוצים שהשלטון שלנו ידאג לבטחון והתיישבות ובמקום זה הוא מגביל יהודים ומתעלל בחלק מהם.אני חושבת שאחרי שתכירו את מאיר, תזדהו עם הרעיונות שלו, גם אם לא תסכימו איתו.עכשיו אתם כבר לא תשתקו. אתם תעזרו לי להחזיר את בעלי הביתה."יהודי לא מענה יהודי".באהבת ישראל, מוריה אטינגר===============================================================================A letter by Libby Kahana, Meir's grandmother:
My grandson Is in danger http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/18288#.VqZU5vkrJdi
Administrative detention can be renewed forever. Libby Kahane
Op-Ed: My grandson is in dangerAdministrative detention can be renewed forever.Published: Sunday, January 24, 2016 9:50 PMLibby KahaneThe imprisonment of my grandson Meir Ettinger brings back difficult memories for me. I don't know how many people remember that my late husband Rabbi Meir Kahane, zt"l was jailed under those same despicable administrative detention orders in May 1980.An administrative detention order deprives a person of his basic rights. He can be held for six months without being charged or tried and the order can be renewed indefinitely.Simply put, the powers-that-be don't like the way he thinks.If there were any evidence that my grandson Meir committed a crime, he should be put on trial in an open court. He has not been tried in court because he has not committed any crime.What he has done is not considered a crime in any democratic country. He expressed unpopular views in a blog he wrote on the Hebrew website "Hakol Hayehudi." Simply put, the powers-that-be don't like the way he thinks.When his case came to court for review after his first three months in prison, the judge ordered his imprisonment continued. The reason he gave was that Meir had not changed his views. The Honenu lawyer said, "If the judge wants him to change his opinions, he can send him to Korea, there they know how to make people change their opinions."The administrative order imprisoning Meir can be renewed by the simple signature of the Minister of Defense for another six months, and another and another – life imprisonment by installments.Is Israel turning into a totalitarian state? What is happening to our beloved Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East?With two weeks left of the six months decreed by the Minister of Defense Yaalon, my grandson Meir began a hunger strike on Wednesday, January 20. I hope and pray it will succeed in touching the hearts of the powers that be, but I am concerned about the harm to his healthPlease plead for Meir Ettinger's immediate freedom. It takes only the signature of the Minister of Defense Moshe Yaalon to decide Meir's future:Send emails and faxes to Minister Yaalon, Fax: 972-2-5303506. Email: pniot@mod.gov.ilYour pleas to the Prime Minister and the President will help too:Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu: Fax 972-2-6703398. Email: pm_eng@pmo.gov.ilPresident Reuven Rivlin. Fax: 972-2-588-7225. Email: public@president.gov.il.=======================================================================================
In the News from Arutz7:
'A political arrest in Israel's worst prison branch'
Meir Ettinger's administrative arrest extended another 4 months without trial as he hunger strikes - his wife tells all.
By Shimon Cohen
First Publish: 2/1/2016, 5:34 PM
Nationalist activist Meir Ettinger had his administrative detention extended on Monday by an additional four months by Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon (Likud). He has been held since last August 3rd without trial, charges or evidence against him.
Monday also marked the 14th day of Ettinger's hunger strike, during which he has already lost consciousness once while protesting his draconian detention. Ettinger is a grandson of former MK Rabbi Meir Kahane, who was assassinated by an Arab terrorist in 1990, and who called to transfer Arab residents out of Israel.
Ettinger's wife Moriya spoke with Arutz Sheva on Monday, describing the difficult jail conditions her husband is being held in without even being told what he is being detained for.
Moriya Ettinger noted that while her husband lost consciousness several days ago, currently he "feels okay thank God. He faints now and then. He is weak, but he's okay relative to someone who is hunger striking for 14 days."
She reports that after he lost consciousness and then came to, he asked the prison guards for help and they just laughed at him, adding, "it really was funny for them. Apparently if it was an Arab it wouldn't have been so funny."
Ettinger emphasized that her husband is not being held on connection to the lethal arson in the Arab village of Duma, a point that has been acknowledged by officials after they initially made vague hints at a possible connection.
"He is hunger striking in protest of his jail conditions in the most heavily guarded prison wing in the country with the most dangerous people (prisoners) in the country, people who were convicted of the most severe crimes... people from crime and terror organizations. He is there in that wing with no trial. Now they want to extend his detention. We rely on God that he will be released, but we know that an effort must be made in order for him to be freed."
"Thought police"
Addressing her husband's opinions in favor of a state ruled by Torah law, view for which he was apparently was arrested, she said: "I know that my husband's ideas are unique ideas that not everyone can identify with 100%, but everyone for whom the land and the Torah are important to them, if they hear my husband's words without the distortion and demonization that they are doing to him - I'm certain they will identify with him.
"This is the thought police - putting a man in jail because of his opinions."
Describing his ideology, she said, "all of his ideas are from consultation with the opinion of the Torah, mostly with Rabbi Yitzhak Ginsburgh who he nurtures his ideas from... To jail someone on their opinions is a scandal and it is not Jewish. They did a great injustice when they turned a gentle and caring person into an awful monster."
"I can quote from the papers, they spilled his blood. You have to protest this bloodshed, which enables the political arrest he is in," she said.
Further outlining how her husband is being portrayed, she said, "the Shabak (Israeli Security Agency) itself, we know, has briefed people from the media as to how to present this detention and to invent things and define him as the most wanted man. That shows us that this is a political arrest and not a legal arrest. My husband is not guilty of anything that justifies sitting in jail."
"Complete isolation"
Ettinger explained that only due to her husband's previous hunger strike was he finally allowed to talk with his close family members over the phone. He was also allowed to have one half-hour visit every two weeks, in which he can talk with his visitor through glass via a telephone under the observation of guards.
"Most of the prisoners are in open branches with other prisoners in conditions that allow them to go out to the courtyard. My husband is in the 'national separation branch;' it's the most severe branch in the country, for prisoners convicted of the worst offenses - people who were found guilty on several counts of murder, people who organized numerous robberies and break-ins."
She described his conditions as "complete isolation. He's in a room alone. You can't be silent over something like that. We (Jews) are all brothers."
"It is clear to us that all is in God's hands. It is clear to us that all the security members and Shabak members are nothing and only God can determine what will be and all is in His hands, but at the same time, there is an obligation on every Jew to help Jews in distress and do all they can."
Ettinger concluded by speaking about her husband's spirit, which she is able to learn about from his lawyer, the only person he is allowed to freely talk with.
"I know that he maintains his happiness and faith and trust in God. We have moments when it is hard for us, but Meir is a happy man and a great hero, and isn't close to breaking or being sad."
Sincerely,
Robin Ticker
Robin Ticker
Activist emails sent to my list are L'Ilui Nishmat Yisrael ben David Aryeh ob"m (Izzy - Kaplan) and Howard Chaim Grief great activists and lovers of Eretz Yisroel, Am Yisroel and the Torah. Yehi Zichronum Baruch. May their memories serve as a blessing.
Most of these emails are posted on Shemittahrediscovered.blogspot.com
Personal emails to individuals will not be posted to my blog.
