Rabbi said violently attacked outside synagogue by volunteer cop

A volunteer policeman in the central city of Petah Tikva assaulted an elderly rabbi outside a synagogue following a fight over mask-wearing, the Ynet news site reports.

Footage posted by the site shows the man knocking the ultra-Orthodox rabbi to the ground and violently kicking him in his face and chest.

An eyewitness says the incident came after an argument broke out over the weekend between the synagogue leaders and the volunteer cop over the wearing of masks.

“The absurd part is that everyone was wearing masks. Obviously, it was specifically the rabbi who forced everyone to be with a mask, over their mouths and noses. In the end he was the one who was the target of that man’s fury, who has claimed that he’s ‘aiding the public,'” the witness, identified as Yaakov, says.

Police say they’re investigating.