The activist, who organized the renewal of traditional monthly prayer marches around the gates of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, is the first Jew to be jailed without due process ahead of this summer’s withdrawal of Jews from the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria. He is a resident of the town of Yitzhar, south of Shechem in central Samaria.
The order to jail Neria Ofan was signed by Defense Minister Sha’ul Mofaz, and was handed to him as he pulled up to the Hizmeh checkpoint near the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Ze’ev. Ofan was on his way, with his wife and children, to take part in the monthly encirclement of the gates of the Temple Mount, which he helps organize.
Ofan was told that he will spend the next six months, until after the implementation of the withdrawal from Gaza and northern Samaria, in an Ashkelon prison.
Security services sources have spread numerous leaks to the press, alleging that Ofan was suspected of illegal activity and violence, but both human rights groups and anti-expulsion activists are demanding the government either file charges or admit they are stepping over the boundaries of a democratic society. Ofan’s friends say his efforts to sign up thousands of soldiers to declare their intention to refuse to expel Jews from their homes is what made him a target.
“The witch-hunt has already begun,” said one Land of Israel activist, “the Saison is upon us.”
The Saison refers to the period when Jews fighting the British alongside eventual Prime Ministers Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir were handed over to the British by their fellow Jews for imprisonment and torture.
"Neria is, in fact very well known to Jerusalem police from his full cooperation and coordination of the monthly marches," said Michal Ben-Avraham of Yitzhar. If Ofan, a father of four who engaged in legitimate activities in a public manner against the expulsion, can be jailed in such a simple manner, “then anybody can simply be placed in prison – and there is truly no Democracy in Israel.”
Ben-Avraham told Israel National Radio’sStutz & Fleisher Show that she believes Ofan was targeted because of his ability to contact and mobilize large numbers of Land of Israel activists. "They want to neutralize him," she said.
MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union) offered his blessings to Ofan, lauding him as the first Jew in Israel to be arrested and detained without indictment or trial, prior to the withdrawal. “I want to bless the first administrative detainee in a wave of democracy coming from [Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon,” Eldad said, “and to say to him: ‘Your arrest is your victory.’”
MK Eldad condemned the use of administrative detention and said it was a sign of the government's weakness. "The Shabak, instead of being used to defend Jews, is being used as an arm to intimidate those opposed to the disengagement," he said.
The Shabak (General Security Service) has reportedly submitted several other names to government officials in hopes of obtaining additional administrative arrest orders ahead of the implementation of the Gaza expulsion plan.
Ofan’s attorney Naftali Wurtzburger told Army Radio early today he feels his client was selected in the hope of sending a message to other disengagement opponents, seeking to persuade them to back off and end their protest activities. Wurtzburger added that his client is a law-abiding citizen and a family man who does not have a criminal record despite efforts by government officials to paint a damaging picture in the media.
Naomi Ofan, Neria’s wife told Army Radio that if someone should be put in prison for endangering Israel it is Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "When he started talking about this evil expulsion plan we knew there would be arrests. We just didn’t know who would be targeted."
She added that if the government’s goal is to demoralize her and other Jews who plan to fight the withdrawal, it has failed. "This arrest makes me laugh. Every time they arrest someone, they come up with loads of bogus material against him, but it eventually proves to be lies."
Click here to listen to the interview on Israel National Radio
Shevach Stern, Chairman of the Likud Values Forum, wrote a strongly-worded letter to Defense Minister Mofaz demanding that Mofaz either put Ofan on trial or set him free. “Ofan, like myself and many others, is acting legitimately and in an open manner to thwart the ‘disengagement plan’ that in our opinion endangers the State of Israel,” Stern wrote. “Administrative detention signals an undemocratic attempt to stifle legitimate protest of political opposition.”
“Mr. Defense Minister – this is not the way of the Likud movement,” Stern added. “If there is evidence against Neria Ofan of criminals acts – then put him one trial, if not – then set him free. From this point, the next step is the arrest of members of the Likud Central Committee who oppose you as part of the scare tactics of the disengagement machine, and then those who are against your election to the Knesset. There is no glory down that road.”
Adding near-injury to insult, Ofan’s wife, on her way home with her young child from witnessing her husband arrested and taken away, was attacked by Arab terrorists who threw a firebomb at her vehicle. The attack occurred near the Arab village of Luban a-Sharkia, along Route 60 in central Samaria. Neither she nor her child was injured.
The Honenu organization, which assists in the legal costs of those brought to trial defending themselves from Arab terror, responded to the attack, saying, “While the Shabak is accusing Neria Ofan of attempting to harm Arabs, we see that the ones who are causing harm are the Arabs themselves.”
The order to jail Neria Ofan was signed by Defense Minister Sha’ul Mofaz, and was handed to him as he pulled up to the Hizmeh checkpoint near the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Ze’ev. Ofan was on his way, with his wife and children, to take part in the monthly encirclement of the gates of the Temple Mount, which he helps organize.
Ofan was told that he will spend the next six months, until after the implementation of the withdrawal from Gaza and northern Samaria, in an Ashkelon prison.
Security services sources have spread numerous leaks to the press, alleging that Ofan was suspected of illegal activity and violence, but both human rights groups and anti-expulsion activists are demanding the government either file charges or admit they are stepping over the boundaries of a democratic society. Ofan’s friends say his efforts to sign up thousands of soldiers to declare their intention to refuse to expel Jews from their homes is what made him a target.
“The witch-hunt has already begun,” said one Land of Israel activist, “the Saison is upon us.”
The Saison refers to the period when Jews fighting the British alongside eventual Prime Ministers Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir were handed over to the British by their fellow Jews for imprisonment and torture.
"Neria is, in fact very well known to Jerusalem police from his full cooperation and coordination of the monthly marches," said Michal Ben-Avraham of Yitzhar. If Ofan, a father of four who engaged in legitimate activities in a public manner against the expulsion, can be jailed in such a simple manner, “then anybody can simply be placed in prison – and there is truly no Democracy in Israel.”
Ben-Avraham told Israel National Radio’sStutz & Fleisher Show that she believes Ofan was targeted because of his ability to contact and mobilize large numbers of Land of Israel activists. "They want to neutralize him," she said.
MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union) offered his blessings to Ofan, lauding him as the first Jew in Israel to be arrested and detained without indictment or trial, prior to the withdrawal. “I want to bless the first administrative detainee in a wave of democracy coming from [Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon,” Eldad said, “and to say to him: ‘Your arrest is your victory.’”
MK Eldad condemned the use of administrative detention and said it was a sign of the government's weakness. "The Shabak, instead of being used to defend Jews, is being used as an arm to intimidate those opposed to the disengagement," he said.
The Shabak (General Security Service) has reportedly submitted several other names to government officials in hopes of obtaining additional administrative arrest orders ahead of the implementation of the Gaza expulsion plan.
Ofan’s attorney Naftali Wurtzburger told Army Radio early today he feels his client was selected in the hope of sending a message to other disengagement opponents, seeking to persuade them to back off and end their protest activities. Wurtzburger added that his client is a law-abiding citizen and a family man who does not have a criminal record despite efforts by government officials to paint a damaging picture in the media.
Naomi Ofan, Neria’s wife told Army Radio that if someone should be put in prison for endangering Israel it is Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "When he started talking about this evil expulsion plan we knew there would be arrests. We just didn’t know who would be targeted."
She added that if the government’s goal is to demoralize her and other Jews who plan to fight the withdrawal, it has failed. "This arrest makes me laugh. Every time they arrest someone, they come up with loads of bogus material against him, but it eventually proves to be lies."
Click here to listen to the interview on Israel National Radio
Shevach Stern, Chairman of the Likud Values Forum, wrote a strongly-worded letter to Defense Minister Mofaz demanding that Mofaz either put Ofan on trial or set him free. “Ofan, like myself and many others, is acting legitimately and in an open manner to thwart the ‘disengagement plan’ that in our opinion endangers the State of Israel,” Stern wrote. “Administrative detention signals an undemocratic attempt to stifle legitimate protest of political opposition.”
“Mr. Defense Minister – this is not the way of the Likud movement,” Stern added. “If there is evidence against Neria Ofan of criminals acts – then put him one trial, if not – then set him free. From this point, the next step is the arrest of members of the Likud Central Committee who oppose you as part of the scare tactics of the disengagement machine, and then those who are against your election to the Knesset. There is no glory down that road.”
Adding near-injury to insult, Ofan’s wife, on her way home with her young child from witnessing her husband arrested and taken away, was attacked by Arab terrorists who threw a firebomb at her vehicle. The attack occurred near the Arab village of Luban a-Sharkia, along Route 60 in central Samaria. Neither she nor her child was injured.
The Honenu organization, which assists in the legal costs of those brought to trial defending themselves from Arab terror, responded to the attack, saying, “While the Shabak is accusing Neria Ofan of attempting to harm Arabs, we see that the ones who are causing harm are the Arabs themselves.”