Man charged with attacking elderly woman at Jewish terrorist’s grave

36-year-old suspect allegedly threw stones, shook 80-year-old for placing stones at Baruch Goldstein’s tomb

Tombstone of Baruch Goldstein in Kiryat Arba, West Bank. (Itai, public domain via Wikimedia Commons)
Tombstone of Baruch Goldstein in Kiryat Arba, West Bank. (Itai, public domain via Wikimedia Commons)

A 36-year-old man from the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba was charged Thursday with assault and elder abuse after he allegedly threw stones at and attacked an 80-year-old woman who visiting the grave of Jewish terrorist Baruch Goldstein.

The woman was rattled but uninjured.

The suspect was arrested last Friday and told police he saw the woman laying stones on Goldstein’s grave in the West Bank setlement, a sign of respect for the deceased, in what he deemed to be a provocative act.

Goldstein, an American-born Israeli extremist, entered the mosque at Hebron’s Cave of the Patriarchs in February 1994 and opened fire on Palestinian worshipers, killing 29 and wounding 125 more.

Baruch Goldstein (photo credit: Flash90)
Baruch Goldstein (photo credit: Flash90)

Israeli legislation passed in 1999 banning monuments to terrorists resulted in the IDF dismantling a shrine erected in his honor.

The suspect, who was not named by police, admitted to throwing stones and shouting at the woman, approaching her and tussling with her.

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