Jerusalem: MK Litzman attacked by Hasidim at synagogue

United Torah Judaism MK assaulted upon arrival at family event in Jerusalem by supporters of defeated ultra-Orthodox mayoral candidate Meir Porush over his own Hassidic sect's endorsement of the secular Barkat
Ronen Medzini

MK Yakov Litzman (United Torah Judaism) was assaulted shortly after arriving at a family celebration at a compound belonging to the 'Salonim' Hasidic movement in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Meah Shearim

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on Saturday morning. The group is affiliated with defeated ultra-Orthodox mayoral candidate Meir Porush.

Liztman was kicked, pushed, cursed and pelted with kugel pies. The attackers targeted the MK over the reported endorsement of Porush's rival – the secular mayor-elect, Nir Barkat - by the Ger Hasidim, to which Litzman belongs.

The MK was forced to leave the scene but did require medical attention.

The assault on Litzman appears to signal a further escalation in the tensions between groups in the ultra-Orthodox community following Porush's defeat.

The schism was deepened after an audio recording of a telephone conversation between a Ger yeshiva student and Rabbi Meir Zilberstein – the sect's prominent leader in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh – surfaced prior to the elections.

In the recording, which was posted to a website frequented by the community, Rabbi Zilberstein is heard telling the young man there was no need to vote for Porush, and that he could cast his ballot for Barkat.

The Porush campaign accused the Ger Hasidim of costing him the elections. Unofficial estimates within the ultra-Orthodox community indicate that some 5,000 ultra-Orthodox residents voted for Barkat while an additional 4,000 opted for an empty ballot.