3 Shuvu Banim Members Arrested In Connection To 2 Unsolved Murder Cases In Jerusalem 30 Years Ago

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Israeli police arrested three members of the Shuvu Banim sect on suspicion of involvement in two unsolved murders which took place in the 1980’s. The three suspects- two men and a woman -were taken for questioning at the Central Unit of the Jerusalem District police and were remanded in custody for further questioning. Police say that additional arrests are expected but placed a restraining order on details of the investigation and the identity of the suspects.

In 1986, a 17-year-old boy named Nissim Shitrit, who was a resident of the Sanhedria neighborhood in Jerusalem, went missing after receiving a phone call and leaving his home to go on a trip with Mike, a person he had met the week before. Shitrit was allegedly murdered by members of a “Mishmeret Hatzniut”, an internal modesty patrol. Prior to his disappearance, Shitrit had been harassed by the modesty patrol due to his romantic contacts with girls from his neighborhood.

The second case involves the murder of Avi Edri, the director of a yeshivah who was found murdered in the Ramot forest in 1990 with signs of severe violence on his body. It is believed that he too was murdered by the members of the Mishmeres HaTznius, due to a suspected illicit affair he was conducting with a married chareidi woman.

After a covert operation lasting for a number of months, police say there have been major breakthroughs in investigations which enable them to make arrests.

Last week, a Kikar H’Shabbat report said that plainclothes police investigators and forensic investigators have been spotted in recent weeks at various sites in and around Jerusalem, apparently gathering evidence for the investigation.

Shuvu Banim is led by Rabbi Eliezer Berland who was convicted in 2016 after admitting to two counts of indecent acts and one “assault.” In June, he was convicted on charges of fraud, exploitation, attempted intimidation, tax offenses and money laundering.