The son - Meir Amar convicted of kidnapping
צילום: אבי כהן
Chief rabbi’s son guilty of kidnapping
Meir Amar, son of Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, found guilty of kidnapping, imprisoning his sister’s boyfriend, extortion, threats, and abuse; sentence pending
The Tel Aviv District Court has convicted Meir Amar, son of Chief Sephardic Rabbi Shlomo Amar, of kidnapping a youth involved in a romantic relationship with his sister, Ayala.
Meir Amar has been order to compensate the youth with NIS 35,000 (about USD 8,000) in a plea bargain, but has not yet been sentenced. His mother, Mazal Amar, pled guilty to distorting a report on the incident, but was not convicted.
The young Amar was convicted of kidnapping, abuse of a minor, illegal confinement, extortion, threats, and causing bodily harm.
The prosecution is expected to demand a sentence of three years in prison, but the defense will make its case for a lighter sentence. The court will reconvene to hear arguments over sentencing at the end of December.
Mazal Amar appeared traumatized in court, and told Judge Zachariah Kaspi: “Since I was young, I’ve combined volunteer work with parent groups, and worked to help people and couples. God will give me the strength to continue.” During the court session, she burst into tears.
Mazal asked her daughter to end her relationship with her ultra-Orthodox boyfriend, but Ayala did not comply, and secretly continued the forbidden relationship.
Unbearable tragedy?
Mazal’s lawyer, Yael Grossman, said that she did not know her son had kidnapped and abused Ayala’s boyfriend, and “despite having a basis to assume it happened, she didn’t know about it.”
At first, Mazal Amar was accused of illegal confinement and forced extortion, after it was revealed that her son arrived at the family home with the youth kidnapped hours before, and with Ayala.
But both prosecution and defense asked the court not to convict her because the mere appearance at court constituted an “unbearable tragedy” for her.
The father of the kidnapped youth told the court that since the plea bargain was reached and the court case publicized, he “has not been able to find an education center willing to accept” his son.
