Here is a brief follow up to My Encounter With The Shabba"k which I have been meaning to write for quite some time. I was prompted to post this by a response to the way I handled the encounter by Talking Loud, Saying Nothing.
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At the conclusion of my meeting with the Shabba"k (General Security Services) agents, a couple of days before Yom Kippur, they asked me not to say to tell anyone that they wanted to see me again. They seemed a bit surprised that I had already mentioned to people that they wanted to meet with me. I simply said that I had to tell my boss at work, in case I was late coming in.
They then said that I should only mention anything else if asked, and if asked, that I should tell people that the meeting was about the announcement found near the attack on Prof. Sternhell.
Obviously something was up. I doubt that I part of any greater plan, but rather just being tested to see if I could be "turned," and be of some use to them.
I followed the advice I had received ages ago, which was to tell anyone and everyone. And now, I am of no use to them.
These agents never ended up calling me in for a follow up meeting. Whether they ever intended to or not, I don't know.
Now as to why I met with them in the first place, everything happened so quickly, that I didn't have the opportunity to seek any guidance. I feared that if I called anyone on the phone I would be compromising them. I even thought that my phone was bugged, as I received my first phone call from them just when I began using a cell phone I borrowed, I later discovered had been in the Shabba"k's possession at one time.
After discussing the various events with those having experience with such matters, it seems more likely that the Shabba"k simply knew who I was, from living in K'far Tapu'ah and from my associations, and if anything tapped into my line.
After failing to obtain advice, I decided to go into the meeting. The main reason I decided to do so was an attempt to feel more in control than by not going in. This was one strategy I learned in Tapu'ah from seasoned Shabba"k targets. It felt better to me than worrying about when they were going to come and get me. Not everyone agrees with this strategy. Although I believe it worked for me. I added to this by mentally preparing myself to accept the worst case scenarios.
I have known people to lose their jobs due to a Shabba"k interview, lose security clearance and thus job opportunities, lose a weapons license, to undergoing sleep deprivation for a few days. Yep. Most people would call this a form torture.
Now, I believe the next time, when and if they decide to "invite me" in for another "visit..." involuntarily, I will be more level-headed to deal with the situation because of my past experience with them and with police.
Talking about my experience helped in a lot of the traditional ways. I discovered that many more Jews were "invited" into meet with the Shabba"k. The more I talked about my experience, the less anxious and isolated I felt. I didn't realize just how people I knew who were interrogated over the same presenting issue. It was as if they were trying to make some sort of quota.
Several Ramba"mim, Jews who hold by the Ramba"m, were some of those also targeted this time around. Some have claimed that Ramba"mim and those with Breslover influence in Yo"Sh (Judea and Samaria) are numbers one and two on the Shabba"k's "most dangerous" list. Whereas "Kanahists" and "Chabbadniks" seem to be farther down on their list. Who knows? But what all of these groups have in common is that their loyalties do not lie with the "almighty state" leHavdil; they lie elsewhere. And this both disturbs and perplexes the powers that be.
There is no question that the Shabba"k's recent interrogations will add to their research data base of settler profiling, to assist them in dealing with any resistance to future attempts to Jews from the homes and towns. Yitzhar and Hevron, as well as smaller towns such as Adei Ad near Shiloh, are their current laboratories, where they observe the reactions to various strategies.
How do settlers react to leftist provocation? How do they react to police entrapment? How do they react to Arabs who are egged on by [un-] Jews? These are some of the questions being asked during their research.
There is, of course, also the greater issue of general state loyalty. As the religious population increases, and attempts to infuse the country with goyim from the Former Soviet Union and the U. S. are running out of steam, new strategies are needed to combat what the Eruv Rav government sees as a threat to their control: The Torah. Shabba"k laboratory experiments will be considered useful in their pursuits to maintain power.
Observations are made at Haredi protests against grave desecration, the gay parade, and autopsies. Once the government feels it has a handle on the settlers, the Haredim will be the focus of their next targets. It's too bad that they don't realize this.
To conclude, I would like to pass on some advice from the Honenu Legal Defense Fund, when confronted by the Shabba"k. It was relayed to me by one of my Ramba"mi friends. According to him, it is advised only to say the following four things, in order:
1. I have not committed any crime.They emphasize the importance of providing the reasons why you will not speak with them, before you actually say that you will not speak to them.
2. I do not trust you.
3. I do not believe in you.
4. And so, I will not speak with you.
I also consulted a lawyer with experience in these matters, who, after chastising me for speaking to the Shabba"k in the first place, said that I was under no legal obligation to talk with them.
Anyone, leftists included, still believe that we don't live in a police state? Sure, leftists may agree with their actions, but what if the shoe were on the other foot?
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