The rebbi of the newlywed chosson arrested by Israeli military police during his Sheva Brachos has revealed disturbing details about the efforts to apprehend his talmid, including a late-night raid involving approximately 12 military police officers and an alleged attempt to lure the young man out of hiding with a message about a package awaiting him.

Rav Dovid Salti, who has guided the arrested chosson, Yaari (Aryeh) Lieberman, for the past six years, described the arrest as a devastating blow to the young couple and condemned the military authorities for taking the chosson into custody during what should have been one of the happiest weeks of his life.

Speaking to Avi Mimran on Kol Chai radio’s central news broadcast Sunday evening, Rav Salti called the arrest a violation of every acceptable boundary and described the emotional toll of watching a young man he had personally guided through his return to Yiddishkeit, his years in yeshiva and his preparations for marriage being taken away during his wedding celebrations.

“I have been accompanying the chosson, Aryeh, closely for six years, from the moment he began his journey of returning to religious observance, through the preparatory Torah program, his transition to Yeshivas Ohr Hachaim under Rav Reuven Elbaz, and all the way to the guidance leading up to his wedding and shidduch,” Rav Salti said.

“This is a bochur who is connected to me on a daily basis, on Shabbos and Yom Tov. To see him taken into custody in the middle of his Sheva Brachos is crossing every red line and is an enormous source of pain.”

The arrest has ignited outrage across segments of Israel’s Torah community, with rabbonim, askanim and yeshiva students mobilizing in protest over the military’s treatment of a newly married ben Torah.

Rav Salti revealed that the arrest was the culmination of a series of attempts to locate and detain Aryeh in the weeks leading up to his wedding.

“Already two and a half weeks ago, late at night, approximately 12 military police officers entered the family’s home,” Rav Salti recounted.

“At that time, the family was already in a state of anxiety because of the grandfather’s serious medical condition, and the arrival of the forces caused tremendous panic.”

According to Rav Salti, news of the military police operation quickly spread through the neighborhood, prompting an immediate public response.

“That night, a spontaneous protest involving hundreds of people formed in the neighborhood, and the arrest was prevented,” he said.

But the failed operation did not bring an end to the military’s efforts to apprehend the chosson. Instead, Rav Salti said, Aryeh found himself unable to return home in the days before his wedding, fearing that military police would again attempt to arrest him.

“From that incident until his wedding, Aryeh could not return home and was forced to live in exile, learning in yeshiva while constantly afraid,” Rav Salti explained.

The rebbi also alleged that military authorities attempted to employ deceptive tactics to draw Aryeh out of his place of refuge.

“Later, they even tried to lure him outside through a trick involving a notification about a package waiting for him,” he said.

Despite those earlier attempts, Aryeh proceeded with his wedding, only to be arrested during the subsequent days of Sheva Brachos.

The circumstances of the arrest have provoked particular anger because of the disruption to the newlyweds’ first days of marriage.

According to earlier reports, the chosson was detained in the presence of his kallah, who was left deeply shaken by the incident. Her mother subsequently described the young woman’s distress, saying that she had been unable to stop crying.

The military authorities have reportedly sentenced the chosson to 20 days in military detention over his failure to report for military service.

{Matzav.com}