For a partial list of cases in which Honenu has represented Neriya Zarog, please see here.
Tuesday, August 22, 2023, 9:46 Honenu Attorney Adi Keidar submitted a legal objection to the GOC of the Central Command Major-General Yehuda Fuchs on behalf of right-wing activist Neriya Zarog. Zarog is protesting an administrative restraining order served to him two weeks ago. The order bans him from entering the Yehuda and Shomron regions for four months. The order was served to Zarog several days after a similar order served to him had expired. He received the current order while he was meeting with the acceptance committee of Yitzhar. The committee is considering his request to move to the community because of the prolonged persecution of his family by the security system. Yehuda and Shomron Police entered the meeting room to serve Zarog the order, despite his request to be served in another room.
In the objection, Attorney Keidar reviews the development of the persecution of Zarog by the security system over the past few months: “In March, Mr. Zarog was released from a short remand during which he was interrogated about alleged involvement in acts of violence in the town of Hawara after the murder of the Yaniv brothers, Hy”d. When he was released, Mr. Zarog, a father of young children, received an extremely severe administrative restraining order prohibiting his staying in Yehuda and Shomron, other than at his parents’ house in Kochav Ya’akov. My client and his family; his wife and young children, have been forced to live in a rented apartment in Jerusalem, which they rent thanks to the generosity of people who wanted to help them. The children have grown up in a small house in an unfamiliar community unsuitable to them for a prolonged period, which has harmed them.”
Attorney Keidar described Zarog’s treatment by police officers when they came to serve him with the order: “At the end of July, the administrative restraining order expired. My client and his wife were headed for Yitzhar, and the acceptance process was well underway. The children were registered in educational institutions in the community, and now, in the middle of an interview with the acceptance committee, Yehuda and Shomron Police officers entered the secretariat’s meeting room in a humiliating and heavy-handed manner to read the order in front of everyone present. The order, which is expected to be served to him, is an additional prohibition to enter Yehuda and Shomron for a long time. This disrespectful conduct shows, more than anything else, the treatment my client has received from the security system. They have been unfairly using administrative orders against him, with no real reason to prevent law violations.”
Attorney Keidar noted in the objection the fact that Zarog was banned from Yehuda and Shomron for the past few months, even though he poses no danger and therefore the current order should be canceled. He and his family should be allowed to lead normal lives: “During the four months of the previous order, it was obvious to all of us that my client was under the strict surveillance of the security system even though he was not detained, interrogated, or suspected of anything. I am of the opinion that a thorough examination of the situation will lead to one unequivocal conclusion: There is no information connecting my client to anything showing that he poses a danger, and certainly not one that stands up to the stringent tests of jurisprudence regarding serving orders such as this one. Moreover, the damage to my client’s family is intolerable. His young children should not have to suffer so greatly.”
“In light of the above, the order should not be served to my client. My client has asked to live in Yitzhar with appropriate restrictions instead of the current order conditions. Thus his family will finally be able to build their home in a community suitable to their lifestyle, and their children will be able to enter the educational institutions so important to them at this stage of their lives at the beginning of the school year, which is fast approaching. I hope these words will reach attentive ears and spark a renewed consideration of my client’s case among the relevant authorities,” concluded Honenu Attorney Adi Keidar.
https://video.wixstatic.com/video/4e1a59_980ef26690de410b96b5ec14577cb844/480p/mp4/file.mp4
Reading the order to Zarog; Video credit: Free use