Shmuel Meidad, the head of the Honenu legal aid organization, revealed that he was warned by a senior official that the Shin Bet collected personal information about him after a senior official in the agency decided to “take Honenu down.”

Meidad founded Honenu in 2001 to provide legal assistance to Israeli soldiers and civilians embroiled in legal trouble after defending themselves against Arabs due to Israel’s left-wing Israeli judicial system and foreign-funded radical left “human rights” groups.

The Shin Bet’s Jewish Department collected information on the organization’s activities, including personal information about Meidad.

Meidad said that this is “the crossing of a red line and the first case of the Shin Bet acting against a civilian and legal aid organization.”

Meidad elaborated that after “a very senior figure from the system called me and said he had something urgent to tell me,” he came to the meeting accompanied by his attorney, Yossi Ben-Baruch.

The senior official told him, “Listen, I know, and I confirmed it with an authorized source that the Shin Bet has made a decision to take Honenu down.”

When Meidad asked if the intention was towards him personally or the organization, the senior official clarified: “No, no. You personally too.” When he asked how the Shin Bet planned on “taking him down,” he received a disturbing answer: “In any way.”

“I was in shock,” Meidad said. “I remembered what happened 25 years ago when I founded Honenu. Many friends warned me, ‘Aren’t you afraid that the Shin Bet will harass you?’ and I would always answer that my wife told me not to be afraid. And I’m much more afraid of her.”

Meidad said that after the decision was made to target him, Shin Bet investigators questioned suspects represented by Honenu lawyers about the organization and its lawyers.

“This is an improper and forbidden practice, as investigative bodies should not act against legal representation in a case,” Meidad said.

“Threats will not deter us,” Meidad asserted. “We will continue to do everything in our power to assist soldiers and civilians who find themselves in legal distress due to the security situation.”

No response to the report has been received from the Shin Bet so far.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)