Man immigrated from U.S. on his own in 2004. (Archive photo)
צילום: אבי כהן
Pullout objector sets himself on fire
Man who sets himself on fire on Jerusalem street immigrated recently from U.S., studies Hebrew at Jerusalem ulpan, where employees say he was eccentric, loner
A man set himself on fire in Jerusalem Wednesday in protest of the disengagement plan.
He suffered burns to 80 percent of his body and is listed in critical condition.
Recently 54-year-old pullout objector Yelena Bosinova of Kedumim set herself on fire during the first days of the pullout in protest of the evacuation; she died of her wounds last Friday.
Mati Goldstein, a Magen David Adom paramedic who arrived at the scene on Jerusalem’s Gad Street told Ynet, “I got the call and immediately made my way to the scene. I saw a man with burns all over his body. At first he had a hard time talking. He said he was hot. Later he said he was 32-years-old and that he set himself on fire in protest of the disengagement plan.”
The police investigation into the incident revealed the man is Jewish, single and of American descent. He immigrated to Israel a year ago and is apparently religious.
An initial investigation indictes the man set himself ablaze with gasoline he took from the courtyard of the Etzion ulpan on Gad Street, where he was studying Hebrew.
A security guard who spotted the rising smoke put out the fire with a fire extinguisher.
Ulpan employees said he was an eccentric man who did not reside at the ulpan with the rest of the students.
“He rents an apartment in Jerusalem and decided to set himself on fire when there were no students present in the ulpan,” one worker said.
“He immigrated alone from the U.S. in 2004. He had never expressed himself in such a way that led you to believe he was disgruntled or suicidal.”
The Jewish Agency is trying to track down the man’s relatives in the U.S. to inform them of the incident.
