Rabbi's Arrest Sparks Citywide Protests
The arrest of Dov Lior for his connection to a racist text that calls for the murder of Arab babies on the grounds that they may one day grow up to hate us sparks protests and riots across Israel's capital.
Rabbi Lior's arrest sparks protest
(Video) Police arrest six demonstrators blocking Route 1 in protest against Rabbi Lior's arrest. Some activists set tires on fire. Meanwhile, rabbi suspected of incitement released from custody after two-hour interrogation
Ynet reporters (see list at bottom)
VIDEO - Dozens of right-wing activists blocked the entrance to Jerusalem Monday and set tires on fire following the arrest of Rabbi Dov Lior for incitement suspicions. Six protestors were arrested.
Police and rescue forces were dispatched to the area. Meanwhile, the rabbi who is suspected of inciting against non-Jews by supporting the book "The King's Torah", has been released from custody after being questioned for two hours.
Also Monday, hundreds of youth tried to break into the Supreme Court compound in Jerusalem and were blocked by police. A large water tank is preventing the protestors from approaching the gate. Police arrested several rioters.
Haim, a driver stuck in traffic, said: "The activists are sitting on the road. They also torched tires. Police tried to evacuate them forcefully but did not succeed."
Another driver noted, "I haven't seen anything like it since the Gush Katif demonstrations." He added that several ultra-Orthodox men joined the protest.
The protestors are chanting "Torah has been arrested "and "We won't stay silent when Torah's honor is at stake." They are being led by MK Michael Ben Ari.
Ben Ari said: "To us Rabbi Lior is following the path of Moses and Akiva ben Joseph. Anyone who tramples over him, tramples over the Torah. Leftists are the Supreme Court, they want to be superior and we are here to stop them."
Right-wing activists also blocked the entrance to Kiryat Arba. "Rabbi Lior's arrest is a declaration of war," one of the protestors said. "We shall block junctions and disrupt life using all means and stopping at no red lines."
Police also plan to summon Rabbi Yaakov Yosef, who recommended the book, for questioning. They will then hand over investigation materials to the State Prosecutor's Office which will consider further action.
MK Uri Ariel (National Union) said: "The police and state prosecution have decided to persecutre rabbis for their halachic positions. This is a state silencing attempt that cannot take place in a democratic state. His arrest is the same as that of a university lecturer or a judge."
An arrest warrant was issued against Rabbi Lior a few months ago for alleged incitement over statements he made in support of the book "The King's Torah," which legitimized the killing of non-Jews in war time. He was arrested Monday, near Jerusalem.
'Is this Soviet Russia?'
Rabbi Lior's son Yair was outraged over the arrest. "This is a serious offence against the settler public but they are to blame for allowing themselves to be trampled on during the disengagement and other evacuations."
He further added: "This is a silencing attempt which is against democracy. I want to see where are all the bleeding hearts, the leftists who talk about the public's rights and are suddenly silent. They're hypocrites."
He also called on for the dismissal of Deputy State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan who ordered the arrest.
"Is this Soviet Russia where a man is abducted for his opinions alone? It's a dictatorship. My father is a man who says the truth and was thus persecuted. He says that the Land of Israel is ours and that God Almighty promised this land to us and not the sons of Ishmael."
Yair Altman, Omri Efraim, Ronen Medzini, Moran Azulay, Kobi Nahshoni and Aviel Magnezi contributed to this report
[Hat Tip: Seymour.]
the protesters all belong to the right wing of the chardal movement.
Posted by: Yosef ben Matitya | June 27, 2011 at 01:14 PM
two locations, dozens of protests, is citywide?
Posted by: masortiman | June 27, 2011 at 01:26 PM
Ah, the shoteh from C-Land returns.
It wasn't a couple dozen – it was hundreds.
It was three locations, not two: the supreme court, the main police station, and the Highway 1 entrance to Jerusalem.
And you are, as always, clueless.
Posted by: Shmarya | June 27, 2011 at 01:30 PM
Maybe its my ADD = I read the entrance to J on rte 1, and the supreme court.
Plus the entrance to kiryat Arba, which isnt in J.
Maybe you have other sources, I am just looking at the above article.
Sorry I am a clueless Shoteh. I am just trying to understand whats in the above article.
Posted by: masortiman | June 27, 2011 at 01:54 PM
evidently the text search function in my broswer isnt working - I can't find "police station" in the above article.
Posted by: masortiman | June 27, 2011 at 01:56 PM
oh I see, you have a reference to the police station in another thread. So if someone doesnt read every thread of yours on a given topic, they are a shoteh? IC.
Very well. Still three locations, a few dozen protestors. Not the impression I got from "citywide", not for a city the size of Jerusalem, but oh well.
Posted by: masortiman | June 27, 2011 at 01:59 PM
jpost says 200
Ynet says dozens.
Does Ynet mean 15 dozen? or do they substantively disagree with JPost? I dont know. Again, I was going by this post.
IIUC its customary in the news business for a headline of an article to be supported by the text of the adjacent article, not by that combined with some other article. I thought the same thing applied to blogging, but I guess not.
Posted by: masortiman | June 27, 2011 at 02:03 PM
I give Rav Lior a credit on another issue. He was the Av beit din who converted the Texas woman who was forced by Leib Tropper to have sex with him, his wife, Silber (the Satmar Guy) and Amir. That was the time where the RCA rabbis were shaking in their pants by the thought of Tropper and his people.
Rav Lior lives his life surrounded by Arabs who will kill him and his family in a second so he had not much to be afraid of Tropper
Posted by: Bassy the Haredi Slayer | June 27, 2011 at 02:05 PM
haaretz says 200, so I will agree it was 200.
Posted by: masortiman | June 27, 2011 at 02:08 PM
plus hundreds at the supreme court.
Posted by: masortiman | June 27, 2011 at 02:09 PM
arrest each and every one and jail them.
no government can survive when you have a group of people who think simply I will protest and we will not get arrested.
they do it for every reason even when a mother starves her child
Posted by: seymour | June 27, 2011 at 04:20 PM
Sometimes you have to lance the boil for healing to proceed.
Posted by: Adam Neira | June 27, 2011 at 07:00 PM
On one hand there's the desire for freedom of the press; on the other hand, there's dispicable, hateful literature.
What to do?
Mein Kampf is illegal in Germany, still?
Posted by: Office of the Chief Rabbi | June 27, 2011 at 07:50 PM
Mein Kampf is illegal in Germany, still?
Posted by: Office of the Chief Rabbi | June 27, 2011 at 07:50 PM
yep and many other countries that have hate speech laws
USA does not have any laws like that.
this is why many hate groups hosts their site in the USA.
I agree with The USA standers of free speech
Posted by: seymour | June 27, 2011 at 08:14 PM
It is possible that certain statements appearing in the book could be seen as controversial but one has to understand the halachic background. such has this "“Jews have the right to kill Gentiles when they are endangering Jews."Israel’s press as well as the international media, however, just picked the headline “Jews can kill Gentiles !” Without any explanation of the entire context and meaning. This way, haters of Jewish religion started another campaign against Jewish Orthodoxy.
Posted by: israeli | June 29, 2011 at 10:23 AM