Why Bennett is siding with the Shin Bet
HaBayit HaYehudi Chair Naftali Bennett has expressed his unequivocal support for the Shin Bet in the face of claims that it tortured the suspected murderers of the Dawabsha family.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett gave one of the most important interviews of his career as leader of the national religious sector to Army Radio Dec. 22. After an aggressive series of protests against the way the Shin Bet and legal system have allegedly treated the Douma detainees accused of killing the Dawabsha family, the HaBayit HaYehudi chairman insisted on supporting the Shin Bet. Perhaps even more important, he made his statement before the prime minister’s office issued a similar statement of its own.
In the background of this bold statement, some groups on the right are calling for the release of the young detainees suspected of participating in the murder of the Dawabsha family in the village of Douma in late July. According to the leaders of this right-wing effort, Shin Bet interrogators have been using physical and emotional torture on the suspects in the course of their investigation.
These young Jews were arrested in late November under a heavy cloak of secrecy. The Shin Bet reportedly claims that it is treating the investigation as an urgent priority to thwart “severe terrorist attacks that could lead to a loss of life.” That is why it's chosen to employ several relatively unusual methods, including administrative detention, banning the suspects from meeting with their lawyers, closed-door hearings and a gag order on the proceedings.
The public campaign for their release began in mid-December. So far, it has included violent demonstrations in front of the homes of the director of the Shin Bet, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and various judges, as well as press conferences and media interviews by the parents of the detainees. The families are making the very serious claim that the murder suspects have been tortured during their interrogations.
