The Israel Police’s Northern District detained several haredim for questioning overnight Saturday after they illegally crossed into Lebanon.
During the night, the police received reports from the Israel Defense Forces regarding a group of 20 Israeli civilians who entered Lebanese territory after crossing the border in the northern region.
The group apparently traveled to the location to visit the tomb of Rav Ashi (352–427)—the Babylonian sage credited with compiling the Gemara, an essential component of the Talmud—which is said to be located near the border between Israel and Lebanon, overlooking Kibbutz Manara and inside an IDF army post.
The U.N.-demarcated Blue Line border runs through the area where the tomb is located.
Police officers arrived at the scene and, after coordinating with military forces and ensuring all border-crossers returned to Israeli territory, they detained several suspects and transferred them for questioning at the Kiryat Shmona police station.
Ch. Supt. Arik Berkowitz, commander of the Kiryat Shmona police station, provided context. “These are ultra-Orthodox residents from Jerusalem and other communities. They circulated information among themselves suggesting that the site was open and organized for prayer visits,” he said.
“They arrived tonight to fulfill the religious commandment. They maintain they were unaware this constituted an offense or that they were violating any laws. This is not the first time in recent months that we have encountered groups reported by the military for crossing the border. Unfortunately, we have dealt with similar groups previously.”
On Nov. 20, Ze’ev Erlich, 71, a scholar and archaeological expert on the Land of Israel, was killed in a firefight with Hezbollah terrorists after entering Lebanon as a civilian alongside IDF troops.
Sgt. Gur Kehati, 20, a member of the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion from Moshav Nir Banim, was also killed in the attack, which took place at an archeological site some four miles from the Israeli border.
Though Erlich was not an active reservist, the military’s Personnel Directorate (formerly called the Manpower Directorate and the Human Resources Directorate) decided to recognize him as a fallen IDF soldier.
This is an edited version of a story originally published by Israel Hayom.
