Education Minister Naftali Bennett gave one of the most important interviews of his career as leader of the national religious sector to Army Radio Dec. 22. After an aggressive series of protests against the way the Shin Bet and legal system have allegedly treated the Douma detainees accused of killing the Dawabsha family, the HaBayit HaYehudi chairman insisted on supporting the Shin Bet. Perhaps even more important, he made his statement before the prime minister’s office issued a similar statement of its own.
In the background of this bold statement, some groups on the right are calling for the release of the young detainees suspected of participating in the murder of the Dawabsha family in the village of Douma in late July. According to the leaders of this right-wing effort, Shin Bet interrogators have been using physical and emotional torture on the suspects in the course of their investigation.