The constantly-growing Jewish Community of Hevron faces its share of difficulties, in addition to the obvious ones caused by the Oslo War. In a letter to the Chief of the Shomron and Judea Police District, Commander Shachar Ayalon, the following specific problem is outlined:
\"For this past half-year, ever since Ali Zamir has become the new commander of the Hevron police station, the police have carried out against the Jews of Hevron invasive, violent, and provocative behavior... Their \'determination and dedication\' to their mission of catching such heavy criminals as children and innocent residents who are accused of trivial incidents arouse our scorn. Plainclothes detectives in civilian automobiles patrol all hours of the day throughout the Jewish neighborhoods, break into homes and yards, follow and ambush people, search cars, both private and public, in order to apprehend people on their way to work, stores, or doctor visits, as well as children on their way to school. The detectives ambush people on their way out of prayer at Ma\'arat HaMachpela, and in this way, have turned the holy site into a trap.
\"These detectives video homes of Hevron\'s Jews, using special lenses to film inside their homes through the windows, thereby violating and invading their privacy. We have learned that these detectives receive, illegally, all collective beeper messages sent to Hevron residents. In other words, Hevron\'s entire community is defined by the police as \"a group of criminals\" or perhaps a \"Mafia.\"
\"It is astonishing that at times like these, when the police throughout the country face budgetary and manpower shortages in the face of tremendous security challenges, the local police district is able to allocate funds for a special detective force against us... We serve notice that we will not stand by and continue to be badgered and persecuted while our private lives are invaded. We call on you to put an immediate end to this and stop this detective activity in our midst.\"
A copy of the letter was sent to Public Security Minister Uzi Landau and other ministers, MKs, and public figures.
\"For this past half-year, ever since Ali Zamir has become the new commander of the Hevron police station, the police have carried out against the Jews of Hevron invasive, violent, and provocative behavior... Their \'determination and dedication\' to their mission of catching such heavy criminals as children and innocent residents who are accused of trivial incidents arouse our scorn. Plainclothes detectives in civilian automobiles patrol all hours of the day throughout the Jewish neighborhoods, break into homes and yards, follow and ambush people, search cars, both private and public, in order to apprehend people on their way to work, stores, or doctor visits, as well as children on their way to school. The detectives ambush people on their way out of prayer at Ma\'arat HaMachpela, and in this way, have turned the holy site into a trap.
\"These detectives video homes of Hevron\'s Jews, using special lenses to film inside their homes through the windows, thereby violating and invading their privacy. We have learned that these detectives receive, illegally, all collective beeper messages sent to Hevron residents. In other words, Hevron\'s entire community is defined by the police as \"a group of criminals\" or perhaps a \"Mafia.\"
\"It is astonishing that at times like these, when the police throughout the country face budgetary and manpower shortages in the face of tremendous security challenges, the local police district is able to allocate funds for a special detective force against us... We serve notice that we will not stand by and continue to be badgered and persecuted while our private lives are invaded. We call on you to put an immediate end to this and stop this detective activity in our midst.\"
A copy of the letter was sent to Public Security Minister Uzi Landau and other ministers, MKs, and public figures.