""They hit him on the head and buried him in a pit": Murder charges against Baruch Sharvit and the minister's son

December 3, 2021   

The murder and disappearance of the late Nissim Sheetrit: The Jerusalem District Criminal Prosecutor's Office filed indictments with the city's District Court this morning (Friday) against Baruch Sharvit, 76, and the son of a former minister, a Jerusalem resident whose name is withheld, 69, for the murder of the 17-year-old Nissim Sheetrit 36 ​​years ago. According to the indictments, which were filed through attorneys Geula Cohen and Shira Natan and following an intensive investigation by the Jerusalem District Attorney, the defendants are accomplices in the murder of the 17-year-old Nissim Sheetrit's teenager, as part of the activities of the "Modesty Guards" of the "Shuvo Banim" community, headed by Rabbi Eliezer Berland. The indictments describe that Sheetrit was kidnapped and attacked by members of the "Modesty Guards" several months before his death, due to their suspicion that he was meeting with young women, which was contrary to the religious norms held by the community. Later, in order to make him stop these meetings, Rabbi Berland and the members of the "Modesty Watch" planned to beat him and threaten him once more - and this was done. In January 1986, after he was lured to the apartment, the defendants and other members of the "Modesty Watch" beat him. From the apartment, he was abducted to the Eshtaul Forest in the Beit Shemesh area, where the defendants joined other people and all together beat the deceased with strong blows to the body and head. A few minutes later, one of the attackers declared that he was dead, and the defendants and their friends buried him in the forest. The prosecution is asking the court to order the arrest of the defendants until the end of the legal proceedings against them. The indictment states: "When he was removed from Sheetrit Sharvit's vehicle, he hit her several times with his hand. All those present began to hit the deceased with their hands with strong blows. After several minutes in which he was vigorously beaten in the head and body, one of them declared that the deceased was dead. Sharvit and other people dug a hole with him, covered him up." The request for their detention until the end of the proceedings states: "Some of those involved in the kidnapping and killing of the deceased have not been detained to this day. The serious acts attributed to the defendants indicate their danger to the public despite the passage of time since the murder attributed to them. "The fact that this is a multi-stage, multi-participant, complex and extremely cruel event designed to impose the defendants' lifestyles on the deceased and the public establishes a reasonable basis for fear that his release will endanger public safety." Attorneys Geula Cohen and Shira Natan: "The indictments filed today express the determined and uncompromising struggle of the law enforcement authorities to bring criminals to justice even many years after the crimes were committed. The indictments describe the serious acts committed by the defendants and others who were accomplices in the murder of the late Nissim Sheetrit, participated in his kidnapping by deception and force, and beat him mercilessly until he died. "This is an especially cruel event that was intended to impose the defendants' way of life on the deceased and the public. "During the investigation, many suspects were interrogated against whom evidence was gathered for serious crimes of kidnapping, extortion with threats, and assault, for which indictments would have been filed if the statute of limitations had not passed. We share in the family's grief and hope that revealing the truth will bring some solace to the family members of the late Nissim Sheetrit, who will continue to bear the pain and sorrow." Baruch Sharvit, a follower of Rabbi Eliezer Berland, whose name was permitted to be published this week, was met with the leader of the 'Shuvo Banim' community in the interrogation room, and received instructions from him to provide details in the investigation. He then confessed to his part in the two murders, recreated the acts, and incriminated others, including the ultra-Orthodox mayor - who was suspected of involvement in the murder of the late Avi Edri. The mayor was released to house arrest in Meron, for five days, under restrictive conditions - this is because the suspicions against him have become statute of limitations.