Judge in Rabbi Berland case to have conduct reviewed over 'Mentos' jab
The quip was referencing the charges facing Berland, as he has been accused of giving mint Mentos as a curative blessing to terminally ill patients who paid him.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFEliezer Berland.(photo credit: JTA)
Judge Sharon Leari Bavli, the judge who extended custody for disgraced Rabbi Eliezer Berland, is having his conduct reviewed by the ombudsman for judicial complaints due to his inappropriate comment regarding Mentos, Channel 13 reported.During the trial, Judge Bavli suggested that Berland's defense attorney "give him [Berland] a Mentos" after the attorney said that Berland was unwell, having been arrested a day after undergoing catheterization.The quip was referencing the charges facing Berland, as he has been accused of giving mint Mentos as a curative blessing to terminally ill patients who paid him.Berland has not denied giving Mentos as part of a curative blessing to those dealing with terminal illness. However, his defense attorney defended the practice, saying that "the cure he [Berland] gives is deep in the spirit world and not the material world. Does anyone really think he started a medical start-up and succeeded where all the doctors in the world could not?“It doesn’t matter if it is Mentos or Tic Tacs, the blessing he gives is the cure. He gives his blessing using a material means, therefore no matter if it's Mentos or Tic Tacs, it's the cure. If you believe in blessings then you believe in the cure. If you don’t, you don’t.”
