Friday, November 4, 2011

Ultra-Orthodox spitting attacks on Old City clergymen becoming daily


Ultra-Orthodox young men curse and spit at Christian clergymen in the streets of Jerusalem's Old City as a matter of routine. In most cases the clergymen ignore the attacks, but sometimes they strike back. Last week the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court quashed the indictment against an Armenian priesthood student who had punched the man who spat at him.

Johannes Martarsian was walking in the Old City in May 2008 when an young ultra-Orthodox Jew spat at him. Maratersian punched the spitter in the face, making him bleed, and was charged for assault. But Judge Dov Pollock, who unexpectedly annulled the indictment, wrote in his verdict that "putting the defendant on trial for a single blow at a man who spat at his face, after suffering the degradation of being spat on for years while walking around in his church robes is a fundamental contravention of the principles of justice and decency." [...]

2 comments :

  1. This is a highly uncommon thing to happen. The anti-semitic rag Haaretz's lies notwithstanding.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sam, what do you based your statment on? (Other than your wanting to believe this.)

    I've heard of this happening often, and it sounds quite plausible.

    ReplyDelete

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