A right-wing activist working for the return of Jewish settlement to Gaza filed a request with the police to investigate the possibility of reading the Book of Esther - one of the commandments of Purim - in the old synagogue of Gaza City. Representatives of the police who spoke with the activist on their own initiative attempted to convince him to abandon the idea and promised that they would return to him with an official answer from the IDF about his request.
Gaza City is one of the cities thought to be eligible for the celebration of Purim a day later, as described in Esther 9:19.
The activist did not receive an official answer to his request, and yesterday was arrested by police detectives in the Mahane Yehudah street market in Jerusalem and taken for investigation in the Sderot police station.
During his investigation, the police officers informed him that he was arrested for the offenses of violating a legal order, entering a closed military area, and disrupting the public order, despite the activist having been at Purim celebrations in Jerusalem and having neither been issued such an order nor within a closed military zone.
Attorney Daniel Shimshilashvili from the Honenu legal aid organization stated ‘’At the height of the holiday of Purim, the Israel police has sent its finest officers to arrest my client in a demeaning manner while he was in the middle of celebrating Purim, in front of all of his friends, likely worst of criminals. My client contacted the police in accordance with the law and with full transparency. Despite this, the police have elected to arrest him and take him a significant distance to the Sderot police station. Obviously, my client has not violated any law and only asked for a theoretical permit for a future action, which he never took in practice, making this an attempt at policing thoughts in every respect.”
“It is unfortunate that instead of allowing all citizens of Israel to celebrate Purim, especially during such a complicated year as this police are involved in suppressing right-wing activists. I am confident that the court will order my client released immediately.”
The Hozrim Habayta (Returning Home) movement that is working to restore Jewish settlements in Gaza commented: "Kaplan Street sees left-wing activists burning tires and blocking traffic with no disturbance, but the pro-Jewish side of the map sees a man arrested for filing a request to read the Book of Esther in the old synagogue of Gaza, along with threats of administrative detention. The activist was arrested only for insisting on receiving an official answer, which the police have shockingly and forcefully refused to provide, despite the law that states that police must provide an answer through the official government website. Israel is intent on victory and defeating its enemies for real this time, including conquering and settling the Gaza Strip.’’