Mourning has overtaken the Lubavitch community in Lod and elsewhere in Israel, amidst rumors that an anti-intermarriage activist had been murdered by Arabs.
A gag order has been placed on the case, but the following details are known: A body in a relatively advanced state of decay was found on Friday by a truck driver in an abandoned structure near Beit Dagan in central Israel. The victim’s hands were cuffed.
Missing for five weeks
Rafael (Refoel) Miriashvilli, a 25-year-old Chabad (Lubavitch) yeshiva student from the city of Lod has been missing for five weeks. Police have not said that his body was the one that was found, but rumors to this effect – and that he was murdered by Arabs in revenge for his anti-intermarriage efforts – abound in Lubavitch circles.
Approximately four years ago, Miriashvilli learned that a religious Jewish family from central Israel was in dire straits regarding efforts to save their daughter from the abuse of her Arab boyfriend. Miriashvilli, working for the Yad L’Achim anti-assimilation and anti-intermarriage organization, together with two of his colleagues, approached the family and offered to help.
One night, the three, wearing Border Guard police uniforms, entered the couple’s apartment in a poor quarter in south Tel Aviv, and informed the Arab that he was under “arrest.” The Arab and the girl were then led to a car prepared in advance, and the three said they were on their way to the Ramle police station. At one point during the ride, the Arab realized that the three were not real policemen, and he jumped from the speeding car. The three tried to chase him, but soon gave up, and drove off with the girl safely in tow.
Miriashvilli and his two colleagues were later charged with kidnapping and impersonating security personnel, and Refoel was sentenced to 18 months in prison. A year ago, after a year in prison, he was released – but was not allowed to leave the country.
“Refoel is a compassionate person,” his worried mother said last week, “and when he heard about the Arab tormenting this girl, his good heart couldn’t take it. The State was not willing to save this girl, but Refoel was willing, and he was punished for it… It broke him that after he got out of prison, he couldn’t get married, and couldn’t find a job – and then was not allowed to go to his brother in America. He was very pained and saddened. He paid a very heavy price just for wanting to help. He had no ego – he just helped whoever needed. We just heard that every Thursday he would distribute money to the needy…”
Feared Ramifications
Shortly before the police announced that they had found an unidentified body, Refoel’s mother said that she had reason to believe that the friends of the Arab boyfriend – who has his own criminal record – might have been seeking revenge for what Refoel did. If her suspicions are correct, and Refoel was murdered by Arabs in Israel for having saved a Jewish girl from intermarriage and torture, the national and social ramifications can only be imagined.