Shabbos after cholent: the police arrived to find out details of a car sale

Last Shabbos afternoon, there was a knock at the door at the Bostan family home in the Haredi city of Elad, it was published this morning in the Hamevaser newspaper. The father, Ronen who opened the door - was surprised to see armed police at his door.

"The police asked for my identity card, I explained to them that the ID is in the car, and tried to find out what was so urgent to get to me, in a Haredi city during Shabbos. They asked me about my car, I thought it had been stolen, and then asked me about the car that I owned and sold that week for dismantling.

"The police told me that the car was seen driving illegal people, and went after a police chase. Police who checked the car's ownership marked me as the legal owner, so they came to me."

Bostan continued: "I explained to the police that the vehicle was sold during the week to a person, who bought it for dismantling, and I have all the sales documents - even of the DMV, but I cannot view them on Shabbos because they are in my car parked under the house."

Ronen Bostan is angry at the police for not taking into account the sanctity of Shabbos. "The police told me the car was caught on Wednesday. It is not clear what was urgent to come to me a few days later during Shabbos, to validate the sale of vehicle."

And how did the story end? "Eventually, the police took the car keys, and together with me went down to the car - where they saw the sales documents. They were the ones who opened the door and desecrated Shabbos, and not for saving lives. What would have happened if they had waited several hours until the end of Shabbos?"

But Sharon Region police present a different version, saying "the pursuit of the vehicle took place on Shabbos afternoon." Yehuda Eran, police spokesman Sharon said in response to B'Chadrei Charedim: "Border Station Rosh Haayin arrested four Palestinians suspects staying in Israel illegally who drove a car belonging to an Elad resident. Out of understanding and respect for religious practices the police officers chose to go to the residence of the owner to clarify the issue of the presence of the vehicle. Rosh Haayin border police were sensitive, and excluding civil polling did not ask nor perform any action that could be interpreted as a desecration of Shabbos.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!