Serious offenses by his students: indictment against Rabbi Netanel Deri

December 3, 2020   

Three weeks after the arrest: The Central District Attorney's Office (Criminal) filed an indictment today (Thursday) with the Central District Court against Rabbi Netanel Deri of Lod, for multiple offenses of particularly serious acts against boys, and additional offenses - which he committed against three of his students, some of them over several years, when they were ages 13-17.

Just so you know: If you miss this crazy opportunity, you'll be a sucker.  Chat or phone: Why don't 'Maccabi' members have to run to the emergency room for everything?  Rabbi Deri, 39, a father of 14 children, is the leader of one of the largest communities of Breslov Hasidism - the 'Heichal Hakodesh Community' in Lod, and has hundreds of students under him.

According to the indictment, filed by Attorney Reut Aviri, the defendant, a rabbi and community leader, runs a Beit Midrash and provides Torah lessons to community members and their children.

The complainants belong to the defendant's community. The study hall has a room where the defendant gave Torah lessons, among other things, to the complainants. From the study room there is access to an inner room, which was used by the defendant for rest, and in which there was a bed.

During Torah lessons, on various occasions, the defendant committed serious offenses against the complainants in the inner room, while indicating to them that their proximity to him would grant them high status and that he would betroth them to one of his daughters.

The complainants carried out all of the defendant's demands, out of respect and due to the defendant's high status in their eyes, their families, and the entire community.

In the request for detention until the end of the proceedings, Attorney Aviri wrote: ""After the respondent learned, on 1.11.20, that the complainants had revealed his actions to their parents, the respondent worked tirelessly to conceal his actions and to convince the complainants' parents not to continue revealing the actions. The respondent sent letters to the complainants' parents, knowing that they held him in great respect, and in this way attempted to influence them not to take any action in the matter.

""Later, on November 2, 2020, the respondent disconnected the cameras installed in the Beit Midrash in an attempt to hide his actions. And on November 3, 2020, the respondent gathered his community of believers in the Beit Midrash and asked for the community's support for him, and then even removed the bed and mattress from the inner room in the Beit Midrash.".

The application states: "The complainants and their parents did not come on their own initiative to file a complaint with the police against the respondent, but rather the police became aware of this following a scuffle that developed between the respondent's supporters in the community and his opponents, due to the acts attributed to him in the indictment, and only then was he arrested.".

The request further states: "...the respondent's actions and the circumstances surrounding the commission of the offenses, including the long period, consecutively and over approximately 5 years, against three of his students, when they were minors, the frequency of the offenses, their severity, and the legitimate religious cover he attempted to give them, while taking advantage of his status in the community to which they belong... and while promising that this closeness would earn them a high status in their community, all of these establish grounds for arrest against him... since there is a reasonable basis for fearing that the respondent will endanger the safety of the minor public in general and the complainants in particular...".

""...The respondent is a rabbi and leader of a small, closed community and has tremendous status, power and influence in the community, and naturally, there is a real concern that the respondent or members of the community will attempt to disrupt legal proceedings and even exert pressure on the families of the complainants....".

Last week, the police held a confrontation for the first time between Rabbi Deri and his students who had complained against him, and they accused him of the acts attributed to him.

The police found a video in which the rabbi is seen performing an inappropriate act on one of the complainants.

Dozens of people involved in the case were questioned, including the rabbi's students, and forensic tests were conducted on items taken by the police from the suspect's home.