Criminal Gang Exploiting Yeshiva Boys In Israel

Three ultra-Orthodox Israeli youths will be spending the Pesach holiday in a dank Tokyo jail cell, after they were detained over a week ago by Japanese authorities at Narita International Airport, who discovered significant amounts of the popular drug Ecstasy concealed in artifacts in the boys� suitcases.

The youngsters were allegedly duped by an Israeli-based criminal gang into transporting the illegal drugs, after being promised airplane tickets, hotel accommodations and some cash in return for bringing "gold and antiques" from Amsterdam to Japan.

It�s important to note that the boys were recruited and managed by a haredi member of the gang who easily exploited these unsuspecting youngsters for a global criminal operation. The youngsters, who told their friends about the all-expenses-paid international trek, flew from Israel to Amsterdam and then on to Tokyo, where they were supposed to hand over the suitcases to a third party at the airport.

As we went to press, high ranking representatives from Israel�s Litvishe and chassidic rabbinical communities, including Jewish Press columnist Menachem Porush and his son, Knesset Member Rabbi Meir Porush, were meeting with senior Japanese government officials in Tel Aviv to find a diplomatic way out of this crisis. Japan has one of the world�s toughest anti-drug policies.

 

 

Israeli attorney Mordechai Tzivin

 

Renowned Israeli attorney Mordechai Tzivin, who has been retained as the youngsters� legal representative, raced to Japan last week to consult with Japanese police officials, as well as Israeli authorities, in order to ascertain the seriousness of the charges that have been filed.

Tzivin told The Jewish Press, "It�s going to be a real struggle because Japan has a very tough policy against drug usage in general. However, the three youngsters are being treated fairly and in a very humane manner. What�s important is to make the Japanese authorities understand the scope of what happened, with these boys innocently being misled by a criminal gang. I am hoping that the rabbinical representatives from the haredi communities in Israel and the USA, as well as influential Jewish people in the EU, will convince the Japanese authorities in Tokyo to expel these youngsters back to Israel in the near future."

Since their arrest, Tzivin has worked feverishly to contact many prominent rabbis and organizational leaders within the Israeli and American haredi communities, both in order to secure the boys� release, as well as alerting them to the real danger of criminal infiltration.

"While the phenomenon of using unsuspecting yeshiva boys for illicit operations is not new, this case, which has many ominous ramifications has prompted some of the haredi world�s most prominent rabbanim to urge their communities to cooperate with the local police," Tzivin revealed. "Rabbi Mendel Shafran, a respected dayan in Rav Y. L. Landau�s Bnei Brak beis din has paskened that even a religious Jew, who is found recruiting innocent youngsters for the purpose of committing a criminal act is tarred with a din rodef and should be reported immediately to the police. This is a very important development that the haredi community must now take seriously."

Tzivin also added that Israeli criminal gangs are openly operating on American soil and are always looking to recruit innocent-looking youngsters. He urged parents to be vigilant, as Israeli police authorities are in close contact with the NYPD regarding the ongoing activities of these gangs.