Eliezer Berland's Allegations

Rabbi Eliezer Berland was born in Haifa, Israel in 1937 and he currently serves as the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Shuvu Bonim. Berland also serves on the World Committee of Breslov Chassidim. In 2012 allegations were made against Berland claiming that he had committed sexual offenses against female followers. Some people believe that Berland was persecuted for trying to reconcile the Jewish people and the Palestinian people in Israel. When an investigation was opened, Berland and his followers fled Israel, going from country to country, getting expelled from both Morocco and Zimbabwe in the process. In 2014, he was caught in Amsterdam and ordered by a Dutch court to be extradited back to Israel. However, before he could be extradited, he escaped

She believes that she represents all those who have suffered at Berlands hands. A. the daughter of a veteran disciple of Rabbi Berland says that her father still believes in him. However, she believes that Shuvu Bonim is a false Hasidic sect. A, at the age of 18 was married by her assaulter. According to A, Berland was quite a peculiar person. He would travel at night to tikkunim (sessions of ‘spiritual repair’).

A. and her spouse were firm believers in Rabbi Berland and they would follow him every night, in a demonstration of their devotion. A’s father taught her that Rabbi Berland was the essence of spirituality and because of this she started to go to him at night to get a blessing. A. explains that the first time the ‘righteous one’ touched her was with a ‘gentle kiss on the forehead’. Over time this turned into kissing, licking and groping. A. realized what was happening only after she spoke to a friend, who had experienced the same thing. Since going public, A has been shunned by her community and her life now revolves around the court case. A’s perspective was influenced by her friend who has allegedly suffered the same trauma. A's perspective was also influenced by her father and the community. She minimized the episodes, as she naively believed Berland, when he told her that "she was becoming a woman of nobility”, by virtue of what he was doing to

He claims he was forced by his superiors to ‘forge a false case’ against Berland or lose his job. The investigator explains that since he began investigating Berland, he has suffered tragedies, including a divorce and a car accident. A previous disciple of Rabbi Berland, Rabbi Barzilai says that the police officer, a previously irreligious man, has begun doing teshuvah/ repentance to repent for his deed of forging case. Another disciple, Rabbi Arush advised the investigator to admit his actions in public in order to be forgiven. Such admissions would inevitably make him lose his job and possibly land him in jail for his crime of falsifying a case. The investigator was influenced by his superiors to pursue an innocent man. However, after being influenced by his religion and social responsibility, he realized that what he was doing was wrong and in so doing he changed his perspective on the matter and on the