Brother of pride parade killer freed to house arrest over fresh plot
A year after Yishai Schlissel murdered Shira Banki at march, Michael Schlissel is suspected of having plotted with his jailed sibling to strike again
The brother of an extremist Haredi Jew who murdered a teenage girl at the 2015 Gay Pride parade was released to house arrest by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Friday, two days after his detention for an alleged plot to attack this year’s march.
The house arrest will remain in place until Sunday, Army Radio reported.
Michael Schlissel was arrested Wednesday for allegedly planning an attack on Thursday’s parade with his brother, Yishai, who is serving a life sentence for killing 16-year-old Shira Banki and wounding six others in a stabbing attack at last year’s parade. That attack came just weeks after Yishai Schlissel finished a prison term for his previous stabbing attack at the Jerusalem parade in 2005, which left three wounded.
Police lifted a gag order on Michael Schlissel’s arrest on Thursday afternoon. Yishai was arrested by police in prison on Thursday morning.
The brothers are charged with conspiring to carry out an attack on this year’s parade, in which some 25,000 people marched under heavy security Thursday evening.
According to police, Yishai Schlissel planned an attack from his prison cell that would have been carried out by Michael, who has denied the allegations. The Schlissels’ mother and four other brothers were also detained briefly Wednesday, then told they were banned from the capital until Friday.
“We have disrupted and prevented an attempt to hurt people during the parade,” Jerusalem Police chief Yoram Halevy said Thursday. “The march will take place as planned. We will ensure that the public is able to realize its rights to free expression and protest in Israel’s democracy.”
Thursday’s march took place under an unprecedented security umbrella, with some 2,000 regular police, Border Police gendarmes and plainclothes officers deployed to protect the event.
Thirty people were arrested ahead of the march on suspicion of trying to disrupt the event, Israel Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said. Two of them were in possession of knives, Samri said in a statement.
“The police will continue to use a firm hand and show zero tolerance toward anyone who tries to disrupt the parade in any way,” she added.
The march came against the backdrop of swirling controversies over prominent religious figures linked to the Israel Defense Forces making anti-gay comments.
In an interview published Wednesday, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said he wouldn’t march in the parade out of respect for the city’s religious community, which he said was offended by the display of gay pride. The decision drew condemnation from politicians and others.
The Times of Israel Community.