Ne'eman: We'll continue to act impartially

Justice minister refuses to yield to extreme rightists who accosted him at morning prayers

Aviad Glickman|Published: 06.30.11 , 23:06

Justice Minister Yaakov Ne'eman responded Thursday night to the accusations he suffered by Rabbi Dov Lior's followers as he arrived at the Cave of Patriarchs for morning prayers.

The protesters, led by extreme rightists Noam Federman and Itamar Ben-Gvir, demanded that Ne'eman apologize to the rabbi for supporting his arrest.

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"These kinds of riots will not stop the Israeli justice system from act impartially," Ne'eman said.

Sources in the Justice Ministry said the minister "was shaken by the sacrilegious behavior this morning.

Noam Arnon, spokesman for the Jewish settlement in Hebron, addressed the protest against Ne'eman Thursday and said that "every Jew in the world has the right to pray at the Cave of the Patriarchs without interruption and it is inconceivable to drive out any Jew from there."

Yet Arnon also called on the justice minister to "publicly reflect upon and examine the dangerous trends that exist in his office and prevent the expansion of the dangerous rift that threatens us all."

Yair Altman contributed to this report