Israel Police arrested eight more members of the radical right-wing racist neo-Kahanist Lehava organization today for allegedly inciting racist violence, Ynet reported, but then released four of them shortly afterward.
Above: Bentzion "Bentzi" Gopstein
Six More Racist Group’s Members Arrested
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
Israel Police arrested eight more members of the radical right-wing racist neo-Kahanist Lehava organization today for allegedly inciting racist violence, Ynet reported, but then released four of them shortly afterward.
16 Lehava members are currently facing criminal prosecution.
Three – all Sefardi haredim – were arrested two weeks ago for allegedly setting a Jewish-Arab school in Jerusalem on fire and painting racist and pro-Kahane slogans on its wall. They were indicted last week.
Also last week, 10 Lehava members – including Lehava’s co-founder and chairman Bentzion “Bentzi” Gopstein – were arrested for allegedly inciting racist violence and related crimes.
The Lehava members arrested today live in Jerusalem, Rishon LeZion, the haredi West Bank Town of Beitar Illit, the heavily Sefardi Negev town of Netivot, and the tonly Tel Aviv suburb of Herzliya.
Attorney Itamar Ben Gvir of the right-wing neo-Kahanist legal aid organization Honenu, which is representing the all of the arrested Lehava members, lashed out at today’s arrests.
“The investigation could have been carried out without arrests…more serious than that is the fact that the officers ignored the ruling of the court in recent days that repeatedly criticized them and determined that calls against assimilation are not a violation of the law,” Ben Gvir said.
But while courts have said that in and of itself, speaking out against Jewish-Arab intermarriage is not illegal, coupling those anti-assimilation statements with incitement and calls to violence or illegal harassment is illegal.
Gopstein, Lehava’s chairman, is currently on house arrest but spent much of last week in jail. He also attacked today’s arrests.
“[Deputy State Prosecutor] Shai Nitzan's 'thought police' continues to fight against good Jews whose only sin is their battle against assimilation. I urge rabbis to protest against the arrests made today. Today it's us and tomorrow it's you,” Gopstein, a follower of the late extremist Rabbi Meir Kahane, reportedly said.
The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court extended Gopstein’s detention last Tuesday by three additional days because of the "high degree of danger" Gopstein poses, and the fear he would obstruct justice and impede the police investigation into Lehava.
Gopstein lives in the radical West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba adjacent to Hebron.
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