Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, who arranged the release of David Ben-Abraham, the Palestinian Authority (PA) Arab who converted to Judaism and then was imprisoned by the PA, described the struggle behind the scenes.
"A few days after David was imprisoned, the rabbi who assisted in his conversion, Rabbi Shimon Ben-Zion of Machon Meir, approached me along with Chaim Pereg, who adopted David during the conversion process, and asked for my help. Although the funds were raised for his release on bail, the Palestinian Authority continued to hold him for another two weeks to get him to retract his conversion."
"They beat him, abused him, and acted like a mafia organization for all intents and purposes," Dagan said.
Dagan held numerous talks with GOC Central Command Major General Nadav Padan, Head of the Civil Administration Brigadier General Rasan Alian, Deputy Head of the Civil Administration Colonel Shai Carmona, Head of Coordination and Liaison of Hebron, Lieutenant Colonel Moshe Tetro, and others. "The senior officers intervened and pressed the PA to release him, " Dagan said, and also thanked Tomer Levy of the Samaria Council.
"We are committed to the biblical commandment of redeeming captives," Dagan said. "From the moment a person converts, he's a Jew for all intents and purposes. We saw it as our duty to help a person whose life was at risk, as a Jew who is in a Palestinian Authority prison and even worse, is perceived as a traitor."
The Samaria Council is preparing to assist David now that he's out of prison. He went through a conversion process with Rabbi Nissim Karelitz, completed the conversion process at the beginning of the Hebrew year, and then was abducted by the Palestinian Authority on Yom Kippur eve when meeting his son on Route 443.