Four Arab guests who came to visit Efrat Local Council head Oded Revivi at his ‘Sukkah of Peace’ last week during the Jewish Festival of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), later imprisoned for their neighborly act by the Palestinian Authority, have been released.
The four were freed after the intervention of IDF Maj.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), according to a report by Israel’s Channel 2 television news.
Their release Sunday night, the start of the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, came after a call to the international communition hours earlier by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who appealed to world leaders on behalf of the Palestinian Authority citizens who had done nothing more than act as good neighbors and who were punished by their government in response.
The four were arrested and accused of “meeting baby killers” the day after having visited the Efrat mayor’s sukkah, where they sat with Jewish neighbors and talked about peace.
“Where is the outrage of human rights organizations,” Netanyahu asked in his call to world leaders. “There isn’t any. To their great disgrace, they are silent. These groups prove again and again they have no real interest in human rights, but are interested only in shaming Israel.”