Anger has swept through the chareidi public following revelations surrounding the arrest of a 23-year-old yungerman who was transferred to military police custody on Motzaei Shabbos, with his family alleging severe mistreatment that included preventing him from putting on tefillin and misleading them about his whereabouts. Senior Knesset member Moshe Gafni warned that “this will not pass quietly.”

The case, detailed extensively in the Israeli daily Yated, has raised serious accusations of callous and harmful conduct by law enforcement authorities toward the detainee and his family.

The incident began when Reb Avraham Ben Dayan, a talmid of Yeshivas Me’or HaTalmud who married just months ago, was stopped for a routine check by police in southern Israel. After authorities determined that he was listed by the army as a deserter, he was transferred to the military police. According to family accounts, what began as a standard arrest quickly escalated into a prolonged ordeal. Relatives who rushed to the scene brought his tefillin with them, but say officials categorically refused to allow him to put them on.

Beyond the religious violation, the report describes what the family says was deliberate deception. According to their account, Avraham was moved repeatedly throughout the night from one station to another—first from Netivot to Ofakim, and then to Sde Teiman—while each time the family was given incorrect information about his location. This, they say, prevented them from seeing him or delivering basic personal items.

Ultimately, Ben Dayan was tried in an expedited proceeding and sentenced to ten days of detention in a military prison. The episode sparked sharp reactions within the political system. Knesset member Moshe Gafni, chairman of Degel HaTorah, condemned the incident in unusually strong terms.

“This avreich was arrested for no wrongdoing, and according to the family he was not allowed to put on tefillin,” Gafni said. “This is an army that calls itself a Jewish army, and they prevent a ben yeshiva from putting on tefillin.” He added, “This will not pass quietly. I will turn to the defense minister, and I will not let this hatred toward anything connected to Judaism pass as routine.”

Avraham’s attorney, Shlomo Hadad, has filed an appeal against the sentence in an effort to secure his prompt release, as scrutiny over the conduct of the authorities continues to intensify.

{Matzav.com}