Sneh helped cafe owner resist mob takeover

Police tells 'Post' no new developments in probe of torching of Yisrael Hazaka party chairman's car.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
sneh pointing 88 (photo credit: )
sneh pointing 88
(photo credit: )
Yisrael Hazaka (A Strong Israel) Party Chairman Ephraim Sneh, whose car was torched by unknown arsonists last week, helped a family retain control of a cafe in the face of a forceful attempted takeover by criminals, the candidate told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday. 'I helped a family which owns a cafe in a certain city. A crime family attempted to take the cafe over," Sneh said. Sneh aided the family by intensively lobbying the chairman of the Interior Ministry, Aryeh Bar, to support the family, and by applying pressure on the local municipality to decrease heavy fines owned by the cafe so that the family could remain the owners of the establishment. According to press reports, an associate of the Ohanina crime family had attempted to take control of the Kfar Saba cafe. Tel Aviv Police told the Post that no new developments occurred in the investigation of the torching of Sneh's car, adding that "all directions were being pursued." Following the torching incident, police placed round-the-clock protection around Sneh's home. The arson attack was accompanied last week by a threatening phone call placed to Sneh's home, in which an anonymous caller said the MK would be targeted for assault in the future. The centerpiece of Sneh's elections campaign has been the need to aggressively tackle crime and to empower police to bring down powerful crime organizations. "This is what our campaign is about," Sneh said on Sunday. "I am coming to the aid of the victims of crime. Recently, a smoke grenade was thrown at the home of the Bat Yam mayor. Crime is a threat to democracy," he added. 'I trust the police. I do not feel threatened," Sneh added defiantly. "I'm proud to help the victims of crime." Earlier on Sunday, Sneh said Ronnie Ron, who confessed and then denied murdering his four-year-old granddaughter Rose and throwing her body into the Yarkon river in North Tel Aviv last year, deserved the death penalty. Police went on to recover the suitcase containing Rose's body after Ronnie Ron's confession after weeks of searches.