Gay Pride Attack Suspect Deemed Fit for Trial
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
The haredi Orthodox man charged with stabbing six participants in the Jerusalem Pride Parade has been deemed psychologically fit to stand trial.
Yishai Schlissel, who is in police custody, was found fit to stand trial after a psychiatric evaluation Friday, a day after he allegedly stabbed six, seriously injuring two, i24news reported.
Schlissel had been released from prison three weeks earlier after serving 10 years for a similar attack at Jerusalem’s 2005 gay pride parade.
Schlissel waived his right to an attorney and said he did not recognize the court’s authority, because it did not adhere to biblical laws.
In addition to government officials like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin, numerous Orthodox groups and leaders, including the country’s two chief rabbis, have condemned the attack.
“Judaism and bloodshed do not go together,” Jerusalem Chief Rabbi Aryeh Stern said Friday, during a visit to the wounded, according to i24news.
"Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief"
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
