Two residents of Jaffa filmed beating Rabbi Eliyahu Mali on April 18, 2021. (Courtesy)
Two Arab Israeli men suspected of violently assaulting a rabbi in Jaffa earlier this week were released under house arrest, Channel 12 news reported Wednesday.
The two men, both in their 30s, were arrested over the beating of Rabbi Eliyahu Mali, who runs the Shirat Moshe Hesder Yeshiva in the mixed Jewish-Arab district of Tel Aviv.
The judge also ruled that the “source of the conflict was not racist,” according to Channel 12.
After several days of investigation, police asked the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court to extend the suspects’ detention for another five days, which Judge Or Mammon denied, the network said.
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Israeli Arabs and Israeli left wing protesters hold a demonstration against right wing groups taking over houses in Jaffa, near Tel Aviv, on April 19, 2021. (AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)
For the second night in a row, police clashed with dozens of protesters demonstrating in solidarity with Arab residents of Jaffa on Monday as tensions in the racially mixed coastal city continued to boil over efforts to move a yeshiva into a largely Arab neighborhood.
Three protesters were arrested, including a minor suspected of setting off fireworks at the scene. Plain-clothed officers were filmed pouncing on the boy and dragging him into an unmarked van. Demonstrators sought to block the car from fleeing the scene, leading police to employ riot dispersal measures to scatter the crowd. The vehicle managed to evacuate, but the minor was released from a nearby police station later that night.