Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, June 8, 2025
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, June 8, 2025
Shas’s Deri decries ‘hatred and incitement’ at site of synagogue arson
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Shas party chairman Aryeh Deri prays the afternoon mincha prayer alongside former Sephardic chief rabbi Yitzhak Yosef in Jerusalem's Or Habib Synagogue after the building was torched in an arson attack on June 8, 2025. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)
Speaking with the press outside the Jerusalem synagogue of former Sephardic chief rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, Shas chairman Aryeh Deri says that “there is no greater hate crime” than the arson and vandalism committed there overnight.
“Enough with the hatred and incitement,” says Deri.
Yosef is the spiritual leader of Deri’s party.
“Words can kill, that is the meaning of this entire affair,” says Deri.
He adds that he hopes police will solve the case “in the coming hours.” No arrests have yet been made.
When asked whether he thinks the incident is connected to the ongoing coalition crisis over Haredi enlistment, he says he does not know.
“I see a hate crime here. Someone who came and burnt Torah scrolls and drew crosses,” he says, choking up slightly.
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