Honenu is representing those who are insisting on the investigation of the death of Ahuvia Sandak, z”l, who was tragically killed in a police car chase on Tevet 6 5781/ December 21, 2020, and defending the many who are being detained while demonstrating for change in police behavior. The car Ahuvia was in with four other boys overturned when the police car collided with it from behind. Please click here for a list of posts connected to the case.
Sunday, June 12, 2022, 13:36 Avraham Sandak, the father of Ahuvia, z”l, continues to seek justice for his son and a genuine investigation into his tragic death. On Thursday, June 9, Sandak participated in the Etchalta Conference that was held in Jerusalem with the participation of rabbis from Rabbanei Torat HaAretz HaTova, who represent the leading rabbis of the Religious Zionist public. Sandak gave a speech to the many participants in which he noted that the day would have been the 18th birthday of his son. Sandak turned to the rabbis and asked them to continue working toward a genuine investigation into his son’s death and toward bringing justice to light.
Avraham Sandak’s speech at the conference: “We have merited that this holy gathering, upon which the Divine spirit rests, is taking place on the tenth of Sivan, Ahuvia’s birthday, and for the elevation of his soul,” said Sandak at the opening of his speech. “The Hand of Providence gave Ahuvia the merit of increasing enthusiasm [for Israel] with a wonderful union of great Torah scholars and people dedicated to settling the Land of Israel in hilltop communities. We merited, and senior rabbis came to give classes and hold gatherings on hilltops. We even merited a journey of rabbis from Rabbanei Torat HaAretz HaTova to hilltop communities.”
Sandak spoke about the connection between the rabbis of Rabbanei Torat HaAretz HaTova and the youths living on the hilltops. “‘And He will turn the heart of the fathers to the sons and the heart of the sons to their fathers.’ [Malachi 3:24] The rabbis discovered that the residents of hilltop communities are dedicated to the Land of Israel, motivated purely by the Torah. The hilltop residents received advice and wisdom from the Torah. And thus the general public came to hear about the deep longing in the hilltop residents’ hearts to build the next level of our national rebirth: spiritual rebirth, a holy nation in all parts of the Holy Land, imbued with holy Torah, and with the Holy Temple as their center of life.”
Sandak thanked the rabbis for their help and asked them to continue speaking to the public: “The rabbis are greatly assisting with demanding justice for Ahuvia, by calling for an independent committee of investigation, and for a fair trial so that justice will come to light, justice that is not only private for our dear son but rather justice that at the end of a process will reveal the level of G-dly justice concealed in Am Yisrael. The voice of a rabbi in this matter is an important voice and we need to have it heard and for it to echo throughout the entire public. Ahuvia’s blood is still crying out from his grave and asking for justice,” said Sandak.
Sandak concluded: “The special connection between the Torah, the Land of Israel, and justice is intertwined in the verse ‘Justice, justice, you shall pursue, so that you will live and inherit the Land,’ [Deut. 16:20] because with our connection to the Land and when the justice of the Torah is revealed in our nationalistic lives we can intensify a great and deep Torah, a Torah that redeems, and we can continue the momentum of settling all of our Holy Land based on a faith-imbued connection. And we can continue on toward our great future, to a state of faith, to a holy state.”
Sandak gave his speech at the Etchalta Conference of Rabbanei Torat HaAretz HaTova which took place in honor of Torah scholars and supporters in the Land of Israel. The following rabbis were among the participants of the conference: Rabbi Chaim Drukman, Rabbi Dov Lior, Rabbi Ya’akov Ariel, Rabbi Chaim Steiner, Rabbi Eitan Eisman, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, Rabbi Tzefania Drori, Rabbi David Chai HaCohen, Rabbi Uri Cohen, Rabbi Elyakim Levanon, Rabbi Zalman Melamed, Rabbi Ya’akov Filber, Rabbi Isser Klonsky, Rabbi Mordechai Sternberg, Rabbi Aryeh Stern, Rabbi Ya’akov Shapira, and Rabbi Itiel Bar Levi, the head of the Jewish Cultural Division in the Ministry of Education. The Mayor of Jerusalem, Moshe Leon, and Deputy Mayor Aryeh King also participated in the conference.
Various rabbis gave speeches, and a short video featuring visits by representatives of Rabbanei Torat HaAretz HaTova organization to hilltops and outposts over the past few years was screened. The video includes the dedication of the synagogue built in memory of Ahuvia Sandak, z”l, with the participation of rabbis and their visits to hilltops that Ahuvia had visited. The organization mentioned that Rabbi Drukman leads the cooperative effort between the rabbis and the hilltops/outposts and that he heads the committee of hilltop communities.