ANT KATZ
The rabbi’s Randburg bail hearing – separate from the Pretoria application – was partly heard this afternoon and remanded until 09:00 tomorrow. Seasoned South African journalist Jeremy Gordin told Jewish Report this evening that he was surprised by the attitude of the “big gun” senior NPA prosecutor, Advocate Nerisha Naidoo who had been brought in to handle the case.
“I don’t recall ever seeing such badgering of witnesses,” said Gordin.
The day’s proceedings had ended with the police and prosecutor asking the magistrate to transfer Berland to “Sun City” (the nickname for the notorious Johannesburg awaiting-trial prisoner facility) where, says Gordin, Berland would not have lasted for three days, he maintains.
After a sturdy argument by Rav Berland’s attorney, Themba Langa, that the rabbi be returned to the Randburg police cells overnight, Magistrate Pravina Raghunandan issued an order to that effect.
“A shocker of a fracas followed,” according to Gordin, in which the prosecutor and police took offence to the magistrate’s decision. But she stood her ground and simply stated that she had made an order, says Gordin.
Disrespected wherever she could
This was not the only way in which State prosecutor advocate Nerisha Naidoo continued to show Rabbi Berland in the view of many of his followers, disrespect. She insisted on calling him “Mr” instead of “Rabbi” and pronounced his name incorrectly as Elizer, instead of Eliezer.
Attorney Themba Langa feels confident that he will get bail for the Rav tomorrow – and that, he says, was the tactical reason why he had felt it prudent to uplift (legalese for postpone) the High Court matter in Pretoria. It was important for him to focus on the bail hearing, he told another reporter.
However, the papers filed in Pretoria this morning were very serious and are expected to be refiled as soon as the bail application has been concluded.
Read BERLAND ACCUSES ISRAEL, SA OF ‘ILLEGAL RENDITION’ posted earlier today which links to the recent events and to the whole Rav Berland magilla
MOISHELA
Apr 30, 2016 at 7:01 pm
‘Discussion with Moishela (with his family)
A Handicapped child
20 Nissan 5776 (April 27, ‘16)
“More Proof Of Great Dangers”
Mommy, Boruch Hashem in Eretz Yisroel the week was quiet, but it wasn’t quiet in every place in the world. With volcano’s going off, terrible earthquakes, humongous sink holes opening up everywhere and even a meteorite that hit in Maryland leaving a large crater in the ground and burning fields. But here in Eretz Yisroel it has been relatively quiet.
We are going into the last day of the Yom Tov of Pesach, Chag Hacheirus, and our world in the last week since the night of the Seder had many physical and political upheavals. The physical, at least some of them, I mentioned above.The political ones I will mention now which are the terrible difficulties in Europe with the masses of Arabs, Muslim and Christian, immigrants that are causing a tremendous crime wave in every country that they go to and because the Europeans themselves are beginning to feel like guests in their own land. In the United States the Americans are also suffering from these immigrants who are encouraged to flow over the borders into the United States even without any form of identification and this way they are bringing into the United States of America disease, crime and poverty (as if they don’t have enough of that).
In many countries of the world war is raging and with it comes death destruction and poverty. The so called leaders of the world have made even stronger proclamations against freedom and for a new world order an order in which only the few elite rule without any similarity to democracy to the will of the people. There is danger all around and this last week brought more proof of these great dangers which are total economic collapse in the whole world, world war three is being threatened from every side and our children are being taken over by the government whether it be America, Israel, England or Europe, where ever they rule. They are forcing young children to be the opposite of what they are, boys to be girls and girls to be boys. You can even decide every day what you want to be and these laws and rules have become more entrenched this week by law. We are in danger from within and from without and planet X is definitely coming our way.
So Mommy this week has been a week of revelation and of very difficult happenings. I feel the next two days, the last day of Pesach and Shabbos will also not be quiet. That’s my feeling. What exactly will happen I don’t know. I only feel that it will bring us closer, even much closer to the end game. What can I tell you? I am so happy on one side that the world that has become so threatening so evil basically might soon disappear and even though we will be very depleted in numbers of human beings still we will be in a world of Truth a world of Torah and Mitzvos that every Jewish heart and soul will desire to keep.What else can I say except a Gut Moed, a Gut Yom Tov, a Gut Shabbos to all Am Yisroel. I am sure that very soon Moshiach must reveal himself!’
Choni
May 1, 2016 at 6:35 am
‘Crystal clear. Yasher Koach to you Moishela.’