‘Rabbi Amar knew what was going on’
Suitor of Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar’s daughter, who was kidnapped and beaten by rabbi’s son, says rabbi was aware of incident as it was happening
The lover of Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar’s daughter, who was kidnapped and beaten by the rabbi’s son, said Sunday the rabbi was aware of the incident in real time.
“During the incident the brother (Rabbi Amar’s son, Meir) answered the phone and said, ‘Dad, what’s going on… don’t worry, he won’t come out in one piece’,” he said in an interview in which he revealed his side of the story.
“At 6 a.m. Rabbi Amar called and said, ‘Come home.’ They put me in the car. They wouldn’t even let me go to the bathroom. The rabbi was home.”
The suitor said that a month ago the rabbi’s family asked him to stay away from the rabbi’s daughter, Ayala.
“They told me if I would get involved with her, things would get complicated,” he said.
“Ayala called me and said they were a distinguished religious family, but added that she was interested in pursuing the relationship. I told her I would go to the police if they laid a hand on me.”
The two even discussed the possibility of marriage, but then things got out of hand.
'I still love her'
“We continued to see each other until Tuesday a week and half ago, when Ayala called me and said she was coming over with her cousin and that we would all go out. I went down to the street, said hello to her and got in the car,” the suitor said.
“Her brother began to drive frantically, and he locked all the doors and windows. We reached the yard of a house in the Triangle (central Israel region populated predominantly by Israeli Arabs). A few Arabs with knives guarded me. They cut off my payot and tore my kippa and tsitsit. I received severe beatings on my head and ribs.”
The suitor said he forgives Ayala Amar and wants to continue seeing her.
“I still love her. I would be glad if she would want to come back to me,” he said.
Rabbi Amar said in response to the allegations he had no involvement in the kidnapping and was sorry for the harm caused to the suitor.
He and his family would cooperate fully with the police, he said.
