Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino said Wednesday officers had to arrest RabbiDov Lior, who is suspected of incitement over his endorsement of a book, because "the condition for rule of law is egalitarian enforcement, enforcement that is non-discriminatory and has no preference".
Danino vowed that the investigation against Lior, who told his students Tuesday that police had carried out a "KGB-style ambush" on him, would be carried out without bias.
"All citizens are equal before the law so we will continue to carry out our missions and exhaust all investigation efforts against any suspect without bias," Danino said at a badge ceremony promoting nine officers to the rank of deputy inspector general.
"Public trust is a valuable asset to the existence and success of Israel Police. As commanders we must maintain this trust by making sure that all of us – commanders and officers, combatants and volunteers – fulfill our duties honestly."
- Danino added that officers must be especially wary in light of the recent rioting inJerusalem, which followed the arrest. "We will not stand by while an entire public is forced to pay the price and wait for hours on the road, we will not allow rioting and the blocking of routes," he said.
Rabbi Dov Lior, who was arrested for endorsing a book called 'The King's Torah', which authorizes the killing of non-Jews in times of war, slammed his arresting officers Tuesday, saying the "ambushed" him "like Bolsheviks, like the KGB".
"They are looking for an excuse for persecution," the rabbi added. "All I did was agree with a book written by an important rabbi. I did not break the law, I just expressed an opinion."
The rabbi also advised his students not to change their opinion of the state. "Attitude towards the state has nothing to do with people's private decisions," he said.