One of the arrestees, Asher Vodka, 27, of Bat Yam, was arrested at 3 AM Tuesday morning in his home. His wife Chava told Arutz-7, "We heard knocking at the door, and we saw seven burly guys standing outside. They said they were from the police, but had no warrant or anything. We called the police station to ascertain that they were from the police, and only then opened the door. It appeared likely that if we didn't open the door, they would have broken it down anyway..."
"Two of them were in uniform, but the others weren't. Our nine-month old baby woke up from the ruckus, but our three-year-old remained sleeping... They said that they don't have a search warrant, but, 'There will be a search in any event.' They claimed that in extreme circumstances - which we later found out did not include this case - they can search without a warrant. We had no choice..."
"They turned over all our papers - I'm a student and a teacher, and I have a lot of papers - and left everything a mess on the floor. It was total bedlam. They also took not only my husband's cellular phone, but also mine - as well as two laptop computers in our home; my husband doesn't even know how to use a computer..."
"The hearing for my husband and the other four, who were arrested somewhere else - I don't know them - was held behind closed doors the next day (Tuesday). We saw that this was not only a police investigation, but that the Shabak (General Security Service) was involved as well. This is of course much more thorough and much more frightening - but it shows something very worrisome about the direction the government is taking: The Shabak should be involved only in things that have to do with the overthrow of the government, not in opposition to a specific government policy. This is exactly like Russia, where the government was so paranoiac that everything was dealt with by the KGB. We're headed in the same direction."
Shmuel Medad, director of the Honenu organization which will be providing legal aid for the five, at least during the initial stages of the case, told Arutz-7 that he agrees only partially: "By attributing 'paranoia' to the government, you are giving them an excuse; it's really much more evil than that..." But Medad agreed that the parallels with the Soviet regime are striking.
Mrs. Vodka said that her husband was allowed to take his tefillin with him for daily prayers, but that his prayerbook was taken away from him after a few days. "We of course are not allowed any contact with him, and the package of clothing I sent him did not get through - except for one towel. His lawyer is allowed to meet with him, but the Shabak makes this very difficult - and these visits are just for purposes of encouragement, as the lawyer is not allowed to see the charges until they are officially filed. All we know is that he is being investigated for 'involvement in organizing road-blockings against the disengagement.' All he's ever done is to help organize totally legal rallies and protests."
The four others who were arrested in this connection last week are Yedidya Liebowitz, whose brother Yehuda was murdered by Palestinian terrorists near Hevron three years ago, Ido Ganiram, Moshe Gutman and Betzalel Smutrich. The five will be brought before a judge tomorrow for extension of their custody.
Another man suspected of organizing anti-expulsion activities, Aharon Berenstein, was arrested two weeks ago. He was brought today before a judge, who extended his custoday for another week.