The "haredi man" arrested Thursday at the Kotel (Western Wall) during the Women of the Wall prayer service for buring a "heretical" book police originally thought was a Women of the Wall prayerbook (but was, in reality, a Mormon missionary tract) turns out to be the well-known Kotel figure "Mordechai," a kindly eccentric who has been praying (and sometimes begging) at the Kotel daily for decades.
Originally published at 10:55 pm CDT 4-11-2013
Mordechai sometimes stays at the Kotel for days on end. He's known to all Kotel regulars and is completely harmless.
If I remember correctly, Mordechai became BT, ba'al teshuva (repentant or 'returnee' to Orthodox Judaism from a secular lifestyle) as a young adult after his army service.
Mordechai loves to be photographed by the press, and he obviously was making the most of his arrest.
As I used to tell the police commanders of the area, you really need better training for your officers:
Related Post: 5 More Women, 1 Haredi Man Arrested At The Kotel.
[Hat Tip: Burich.]