The inmates in the Torah Wing of Massiyahu Prison are pleased, hearing of the dismissal of prison officer Y. Constantine, the facility’s security officer. It was not an easy battle, an uphill one in actuality, but the inmates made their case, showing the former guard was abusing prisoners in the Torah Wing.
After too many complaints were received, a clandestine investigation was launched and prison directors learned that the officer in question was indeed treating inmates in the Torah wing brutally – including threats, beatings and other forms of intimidation and degradation.
One of the more well-known prisoners serving his term in the Torah Wing is former cabinet minister and Shas MK Rabbi Shlomo Benizri.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
16 Responses
Isn’t there something wrong with the concept of a “torah Wing” of a prison?
#1 charvona
You should see the fights who gets shlishi & who gets shishi…
charvona, if you haven’t noticed it’s called the Massiyahu Prison (which it probably meant to say Mattisyahu). Isn’t that strange? What I am wondering is why it was called the Torah Wing. Was that where all the frum people hang out (or, learn torah)?
“One of the more well-known prisoners serving his term in the Torah Wing is former cabinet minister and Shas MK Rabbi Shlomo Benizri.”
CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN TO ME HOW THAT ISNT LOSHON HORAH???
#1 – Please don’t forget, “afilu reikanin she’bo, milai’in mitzvos k’rimon.” With a name like “charvona” I would have thought you would have been “zachur la’tov” – in this case thought of Yidden and the havdallah bein Yisroel la’amim, l’tzad ha’tov.
charvona (no. 1):
As a general proposition, lachora your point is well taken.
But in a country where the malchus is in the business of issuing gezeiras that are dafka keneged the Torah…punkt fakert! Lamaisa I think our presumption has to be that any inmate of the “Torah wing” is a chasuva tzadik. Think Yosef.
#1- You must be kidding. Why should otherwise observant Jews have to spend their endless days and nights with non-frum people who may ridicule them and otherwise ‘taech’ them non Kosher habits. Keep in mind, we are not talking about the best that Frum society has to offer.
Aren’t we taught ‘Al tischaver im Rosho’?
Comment #1. WHY? Are you suggesting had they been in the garbage-low-life wing they wouldnt have been subject to abuse by guards?
OR that if someone is sentenced as a criminal they no longer have rights or beliefs?
Or maybe you meant that the whole concept of going to prison should be a horrible experience and by creating a torah wing this influence will undermine that.
#1 – Not in Israel…
Doesn’t anyone here believe in Tshuva, and giving opportunities for it?
To all those people who like to always badmouth all that has to do with this country (yes I am Haredi and that is N O T one of the enjoyable past times among the Haredim here as it seems to be to some of the people who commect here….).
the prison is called Maasiyahu, yes! There is a Torah Wing – yes, it is for Shomrei Mitsvos who are in jail (the Ben Izri case was all over the newspapers so why is it Lashon Hara???) It is good that there is such a wing (although unfortunate that Frum people have been sentenced, rightfully so or not) as it is easier for these prisoners to live in their lifestyle than if they had been in a “regular” wing!!! There have even been instances where other inmates have beome Ba’slei Teshuve while in prison (there are lectures, etc given by Frum Ehrlich Yidden, the prison authorities on the whole, encourage this as reahab for prisoners who many have them grew up in circumstances where they were not given any values and it has been proven that if they become Frum there is more of a chance that they will become productive citizens upont their release. Prisoners are very pleased to be admitted to this wing!!!!!
If that happen in the states it would be anti-semitism but it is normal for Israel; and now you know what the charedi have against the treife medina. Why are these people in jails is another story; it could be they really belong there or it could be being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Look at the yeshiva bochurim that were jailed in Japan and are still in jail 2 in Japan and 1 in Eretz Yisrael. The man who set them up is also in Jew and he is suppose to be “charedi”
Not by my standards is he. He just dresses charedi.
i dunno if any of u were ever in an israeli prison….but there r alot of ppl there which should not be there. for example i had a cellmate that was in there cuz he had a debt-didnt have money to pay so the judge ruled that he had to sit time. another was a cheder rebbe who was there cuz ‘officialy’ he hit a kid. he was sentenced with no trial. u have no clue what goes on in there. the torah wing is a great thing!!!!!!
Number 6,
Unfortunatly those who are there, are in for crimes which are NOT keneged the Torah.
I have no problem with the ‘Torah Wing’. The only thing that boggles my mind,are those prisoners who refuse to partake in the community seder because its not their minhag to ‘mix’ on Pesach(don’t know if true, however I heard someone who was in for credit card scamming, made that excuse)
#3- no, they did not mean to write Mattisyahu. The prison’s name is Maasiyahu, so what was your point? What exactly is strange? And it’s called the Torah wing for obvious reasons- all the Torah Jews are there.
#4- it’s not lashon hara because it is common knowledge once something is all over the news. And he’s not trying to hide it either. Everyone knows he’s in prison, just like everyone knew Deri was in prison.
What about Rav Grossman who has done great work with prisoners and brought them to TORAH AND MITZVOS and made them productive citizens of the medina. His talmidim might still be in prison
but they also need to be treated with some kind of respect