Brother detained during bar mitzva celebration

Friday, October 14, 2016, 10:02 A family’s bar mitzva celebration in Jerusalem was ruined by a policeman’s decision to detain one of the members of the family for a warning discussion by an ISA coordinator. Honenu Attorney Menasheh Yado is of the opinion that the detention was illegal and therefore filed a complaint with the Merchav David (Old City) Police Commander.
In his letter Yado wrote that approximately two weeks ago a youth arrived with his father and two brothers, one of whom was celebrating his bar mitzva that day, at the entrance of the Temple Mount. Knowing that he was distanced from the Temple Mount, the youth did not try to ascend. He stated that a policeman stationed at the entrance to the Temple Mount called out to him and informed him that he was permitted to ascend the Temple Mount on that day and therefore requested that he enter the inspection station. When the youth approached the inspection station the policeman informed him that he was being detained and taken in for interrogation.
The youth was taken to the Merchav David Police Station, where he was not interrogated but rather an ISA coordinator spoke to him and told him that his activity on that day with regards to the Temple Mount was legal, however the ISA demands that he not act illegally. After the discussion the youth was released. The day was marred by the fact that instead of celebrating the bar mitzva on the Temple Mount and in the Old City of Jerusalem as planned, the family had to concern themselves with releasing their son and clarifying the reason for his detention.
In his letter Honenu Attorney Menasheh Yado stressed that the policeman did not have the legal authority to detain the youth for a discussion with the ISA: “My client was with his family at a bar mitzva celebration and was in effect ‘abducted’ by deception by the policeman for a discussion with the ISA.
“Despite the security needs of the State of Israel, it is still a state of law. It cannot be that a man is deceptively abducted by a policeman for a discussion with the ISA while his father and brothers do not know why or for what, and by timing that was decided at random by the policeman without any consideration for the fact that he is ruining the bar mitzva celebration for the entire family. “
Yado demanded to know whether or not the Merchav David Police is backing the policeman and with what authority the policeman carried out the detention for the purpose of a discussion with the ISA.