Tzvia Sariel of Elon Moreh, who has been held in jail since December for refusing to recognize the authority of the secular court system, was allowed to testify before a religious court (Beit Din) on Friday afternoon in Jerusalem. The religious court for matters of the people and the state, headed by Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, heard Sariel’s story after a judge from Netanya ordered that the hearing be allowed.
The court ordered that Sariel be released immediately. Instead, she was returned to jail, and has not yet been released. Rabbi Ariel said the court would continue to follow the case and work for Sariel’s release.
Sariel was arrested in December for allegedly pushing an Arab who entered her town to pick olives. Judges decided to keep her in prison without formal charges after she refused to cooperate with the secular justice system. Sariel, 18, remains in prison even after two Arab men testified that she was not involved in the alleged physical assault.