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Israel Police raided the Shuva Banim community in Jerusalem early Sunday morning and arrested Rabbi Eliezer Berland and his wife and five other senior figures in the cult-like community on charges of alleged exploitation of sick people and their families as well as money laundering and tax evasion of hundreds of millions of dollars.
The police raided the Shuvu Bunim shul about 5 a.m. and brought Rabbi Berland to his home where they carried out a thorough search with the assistance of dog handlers and then arrested him.
While Berland was being taken to the police car, his followers began rioting and throwing rocks and stones at the policemen, wounding two of them. One of his followers can be heard shouting repeatedly “Harav, kill them! Harav, kill them!” – apparently believing that Berland had the power to kill the policemen through spiritual forces if he wished to. The police were forced to use stun grenades to control the crowd.
As police led Berland to the police vehicle, other policemen surrounded the car to keep his followers from reaching it. Some followers tried to lie down in front of the car, apparently being willing to lay down their life for Berland, and police were forced to pull them out of the way.
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