Haifa suspect allegedly strikes Jewish man attempting to pray at Christian site

Incident comes after Haredi Jews filmed praying at monastery, stoking tensions in mixed Arab-Jewish city

By ToI Staff 17 June 2023, 2:30 am Edit
A man hits a Jewish man in video said to show an incident outside a Haifa monastery. (Screenshot, Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
A man hits a Jewish man in video said to show an incident outside a Haifa monastery. (Screenshot, Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Police in Haifa arrested a suspect on Friday for allegedly striking a Haredi man who had attempted to pray at a Christian site in the northern city.

The suspect allegedly struck the Haredi man in order to remove him from the entrance of the Stella Maris Monastery, the Ynet news site reported.

Several members of the Breslov Hasidic group recently decided to pray at the Christian holy site, stoking tensions in the mixed Arab-Jewish city, the report said.

Video said to be from the incident showed a man shouting and shoving two Haredi men away from the entrance to the church.

He then kicks the legs out from under one of them as they move away from the building.

“You can go call the police,” the man shouts as he prods the Haredi men down a staircase.

Police said they had opened an investigation into the incident on Thursday after receiving video of the attack.

On Friday, Police released the suspect from custody, with restrictions, pending the investigation, Ynet reported.

The historical monastery is believed to be connected to the Biblical prophet Elijah.

The incident came after two other Haredi men were filmed praying at the Christian site a couple of weeks ago in what was seen as a provocation, Ynet reported.

A video circulated on social media showing the Jewish worshipers on the grounds of the monastery, with text in Arabic describing the men as “Jewish settlers” who were “breaking into one of the holiest Christian sites.”

The language appeared similar to claims about the Jewish presence on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which is the holiest site for Jews, and houses the third-holiest mosque in Islam. Jewish visits to the site, and an increasing push to allow Jewish prayer there, often inflame tensions in the capital and beyond.

In a video said to be from the initial Haifa incident, one of the men says he is praying at the Christian site due its connection to the prophet Elijah.

Ynet quoted two Haifa residents who claimed the Jewish men had infringed on the holy site and only decided to show up there recently.

“The monastery hasn’t just been here for a year, two years, or even 10 or 50 years. Where were they up until now?” one Haifa resident said.

The incidents in Haifa came amid increasing reports of Jews harassing Christians in Jerusalem. The chief Sephardic rabbi of Jerusalem, Shlomo Amar, condemned the incidents last week.

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