Cuffed, held for 8 hours; hundreds protest at police station

3 women arrested after placing hostage flyers at synagogue where Likud MK prays

Lawyer slams ‘political’ arrest of trio for alleged trespassing; leaflet shows pictures of six Hamas captives alongside photo of Yuli Edelstein from his time in Soviet prison

By ToI Staff 14 September 2024, 2:25 am Edit
Three women who were later arrested for trespassing are seen placing flyers urging the release of hostages held by Hamas, at a synagogue in Herzliya, September 13, 2024. (X screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Three women who were later arrested for trespassing are seen placing flyers urging the release of hostages held by Hamas, at a synagogue in Herzliya, September 13, 2024. (X screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Police on Friday arrested three women in Herzliya on suspicion of trespassing after they distributed leaflets urging the release of Hamas hostages at a synagogue in the coastal city where Likud MK Yuli Edelstein prays.

The flyers show the pictures of four of the female soldiers taken hostage by Hamas on October 7 along with Ariel and Kfir Bibas, the two youngest children who remain captive in Gaza.

In the center is a picture of Edelstein from his time in a Soviet prison, with the caption “Let my people go,” a popular rallying cry by supporters of Jewish refuseniks.

After placing the flyers, the women were arrested and taken to local police station, where their lawyer said they were held with their hands and legs cuffed.

Hundreds of supporters rallied outside the station as they were interrogated inside for some eight hours before being released.

“It’s clear these arrests were political,” charged attorney Ran Tagar.

There was no immediate response from Edelstein, a former minister and Knesset speaker who now chairs the parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Shimrit Burla, one of the arrested women, said she was “ashamed” of the community at Edelstein’s synagogue and whoever there complained to police.

“We are three normal women who entered an open synagogue,” she said.

She also stressed they placed the leaflets “in an orderly manner,” after a police statement accused them of scattering the flyers.

Idit Alexandrovitz, another of the suspects, objected to the arrest, saying she would have appeared at the station if summoned.

Leaflets urging the release of hostages held by Hamas that were distributed at a synagogue in Herzliya, September 13, 2024 (Screenshot via X; used in accordance of clause 27a of the copyright law).

“I assume this was an order from above to arrest me,” she told the Ynet news site. “This arrest won’t deter me.”

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