Israeli Rabbi Fleeing Charges of Sex Crimes Arrested Near Amsterdam
Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam Image by Getty Images
A well-known Israeli rabbi who fled the country after being accused of sex crimes was arrested near Amsterdam.
Eliezer Berland, 77, was detained by police at Schiphol Airport, Het Parool daily reported.
The founder of the Shuvu Bonim religious seminary in Israel, Berland, a member of the Breslov Hasidic sect, fled to Morocco last year and from there to Zimbabwe and South Africa after being accused of sexual assault by two young women, both wives of his followers.
Berland left South Africa in a hurry after police began looking into his actions and was apprehended at Schiphol because Israel has requested his extradition, which the Netherlands is likely to perform, according to the Het Parool report Friday.
During his seven-month stay in Morocco, the charismatic Berland drew dozens of followers from Israel to join him there, and hundreds more showed up on holidays. He left after community officials complained he was drawing unnecessary and negative attention to the country’s Jews, though community officials deny that their complaints influenced his his decision to leave.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
