ISRAEL
Haaretz
Yair Ettinger and Yaniv Kubovich Jul 19, 2016
Rabbi Eliezer Berland, leader of the Shuvu Banim community, was extradited from South Africa and arrested after he landed in Israel on Tuesday, on suspicion of perpetrating sexual abuse and harassment, Israel Police said.
Hundreds of Berland supporters, many of whom were in their cars, were waiting outside the airport for the police van containing Berland.
Berland’s extradition marks the end of an international saga that began when he fled Israel more than three years ago after he was suspected of a number of sex crimes against women, namely in his community.
Followers of the rabbi said a group of them accompanied him on an El Al flight from Johannesburg.
“Rabbi Eliezer Berland’s extradition on suspicion of sex crimes has been completed,” police said in a statement. “After a continuous effort, the Israel Police arrested Rabbi Eliezer Berland, wanted for some time for investigation on suspicion of perpetrating sexual abuse and harassment,” a police statement said.
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