Israeli Protesters Disrupt Attorney General’s Prayers For Dead Mother
Image by Getty Images
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Anti-corruption protesters accosted Israel’s Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit as he said Kaddish for his deceased mother.
The incident occurred on Saturday night outside of a synagogue in Petah Tikvah near Mandelblit’s home. The worshippers had stepped outside of the synagogue to participate in the prayers that bless the new moon and Mandelblit joined them to recite the Kaddish.
The protesters, who have participated for over a year in weekly demonstrations outside the attorney general’s home to urge him to prosecute Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for corruption in at least two investigations against him, spotted Mandelblit outside of the synagogue and started shouting at him.
Security arrived to help Mandelblit, though his wife reportedly took him home. Organizers of the weekly protests distanced themselves from the incident, saying it was not part of the official protest.
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked called the incident “violent thuggery.”
“The lines of legitimate protest have been crossed recently. Harassment during Shabbat—and at the attorney general’s synagogue, no less—is violent thuggery and denigrating behavior,” she said.
Opposition leader Isaac Herzog also condemned the protesters.
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.
