Swastikas Sprayed On Bnei Brak Shul Friday Night, Chareidi Politicians Blame Liberman’s ‘Incitement’

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Politicians from across the spectrum sharply condemned the spraying of swastikas on the Young Israel shul in Bnei Brak on Friday night. At the scene of the attack there were numerous pictures of Shira Banki, a 16-year-old who was stabbed to death by a chareidi attacker during an LGBT parade in 2015. The parade took place on 30 July, the same date that the shul was vandalized, leading to the assumption that the attack was presumably a retaliation attempt by members of the LGBT community.

MK Uri Maklev (UTJ) blamed Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman’s incitement against the chareidi community for the attack, stating that “these scenes at the entrance to Bnei Brak are a direct result of Liberman’s ongoing incitement in recent months in an attempt to make divisions and polarization within the nation.”

Maklev added that “I approached the Police Commissioner this evening in order to know how they are acting in order that we should not have bloodshed G-d forbid. I call on the Public Security minister not to ignore this case and to pursue the investigation without any respite.”

MK Yisrael Eichler said that “the Jewish heart is aching and hurting from the scenes and pictures of the shul in Bnei Brak which was vandalized by anti-Semitic thugs. It is impossible not to think where this deepseated hatred stems from. Just a week ago a thug ran around in Haifa with a butcher’s knife and threatened chareidim.

“There is no doubt that the incitement of politicians and the media against the chareidi sector is subconsciously affecting assimilated people and it frequently bursts into the open in ways which are reminiscent of dark periods. When entire groups are incited to believe that the chareidim are responsible for coronavirus, the economic woes and what not, it is no surprise that the incited persons go mad and express their hatred in sick ways. The Jewish nation must protest the unfortunate event in Bnei Brak and at the same time protest the incitement of politicians and the media.”

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid called on police to “swiftly investigate and find who sprayed swastikas on the shul in Bnei Brak. Whoever did this terrible act should be punished with the full force of the law.”

The Young Israel community in Bnei Brak is a longstanding community composed of both chareidim and religious Zionists, led by Rabbi Asher Landau, who is also a senior Army chaplain. Rabbi Landau referred to the event and said that “in the shul we have Holocaust survivors who have a number on their arms as well as children of survivors. The shul has emphasized Jewish unity and bringing people closer to one another. and is the central shul in the neighborhood . People from all different types of communities and backgrounds pray and study together there.”