Maj. Gen. Moti Almoz
Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit
Rabbi arrested after threatening IDF Manpower Directorate head
Head of religious girls' high school sends Maj. Gen. Moti Almoz threatening text, advising him to 'Remember what befell Pharaoh'
A rabbi who heads an ulpana (religious girls' high school) has been arrested after sending a threatening text message to the head of the IDF Manpower Directorate, advising him to "Remember what befell Pharaoh."
The message was not sent from a blocked number, making it easier on police to track the rabbi.
The rabbi sent the threatening message to Maj. Gen. Moti Almoz several weeks ago, when the Chardal sector (ultra-Orthodox Zionists) was waging war against the IDF and Almoz for drafting religious girls into the army and even placing some in combat roles.
Head of the IDF's Manpower Directorate Maj. Gen. Moti Almoz (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
Police asked the Tiberias Magistrate's Court to extend the rabbi's remand by five days, explaining they wanted to investigate whether he was also behind threats made against Almoz in his home town last month, when ultra-Orthodox men handed out leaflets inciting to violence over the drafting of Haredim to the IDF.
Among other things, the leaflets threatened Almoz that "Your end will be as bitter as that of Hitler and his friends."
Leaflet inciting to violence against Maj. Gen. Moti Almoz
An ultra-Orthodox man was arrested earlier this week on suspicion of being involved in the printing and distribution of these leaflets.
"The head of the Manpower Directorate is not a regular person, he's a senior officer in the IDF. If he made a certain decision, others should not try to influence him with threatening messages," a police representative said in court during the rabbi's remand extension hearing.
The rabbi's lawyer, Itamar Ben-Gvir, said his client, who served in the IDF, occasionally gives lectures to senior military officers.
Ben-Gvir asserted that "The police's conduct demonstrates how much they need a refresher course about the freedom of expression, and how they need to learn to get to know the different parts of Israeli society. The Northern District Police doesn't understand the difference between a rabbi who heads an ulpana and fought in Israel's wars and Neturei Karta (an extremist anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox faction)."
