For a selection of cases in which Honenu Attorneys represented Jews detained on or near the Temple Mount, please click here.
Honenu Attorney Moshe Poleski; Photo credit: Honenu
Tuesday, November 12, 2024, 16:13 Several days ago, the Israel Police detained two Jewish youths who frequently ascend the Temple Mount on suspicion of intending to disturb public order. At a court hearing, Honenu Attorney Moshe Poleski, who is representing the youths, revealed that the grounds for detention were a telephone conversation between the youths in which one of them raised the possibility, in jest, of bringing a young goat to the Temple Mount for a sacrifice in honor of the new month. Apparently their conversation was secretly tapped, and it is not certain that the surveillance was legal. Honenu is of the opinion that the GSS is behind the order to persecute Temple Mount activists and tap their phones.
After their phone call, the police detained both youths and searched for a sacrificial sheep in their possession. One of the youths was detained on Friday and released to house arrest shortly before Shabbat. The other youth, who did not understand his friend’s reference to the goat, was detained on Shabbat and taken to the police station in violation of Shabbat. After interrogation, he was released to house arrest, and again forced to violate Shabbat. At the hearing, he was unconditionally released by the court, and the judge censured the police for detaining him at all.
In addition to the detentions, a youth who lives with one of the detainees was summoned by the police for interrogation. He denied all connection to the incident, but nevertheless, by decision of the district police commander, he was served with a restraining order banning him from the Temple Mount and the surroundings area for an extended period of time.
Honenu Attorney Moshe Poleski leveled sharp criticism at the Israel Police: “A young man spoke to a friend and jokingly mentioned an idea, without discussing any specific plans to implement it, and found himself detained on suspicion of intending to disturb the public peace. It appears that the police obtained the information through a legally-questionable phone tapping. One expects the police not to waste their time tracking, chasing, and detaining Jewish youths who do not have criminal records, but only support freedom of worship for Jews on the Temple Mount, and charge them with non-existent crimes. Instead of being concerned that something will cause dissatisfaction to someone in the Wakf, the police should devote their resources to combating rising terror.”