The Eidah Hareidit’s president Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch intended to travel to the Mount of Olives on Monday morning—as he does each Hol HaMoed to offer prayers as he views the site of the former Temple. However, Arab stone throwers altered his plans. Rabbi Sternbuch, and his confidantes and family members who were driven in three cars, were greeted with large stones and various items thrown at them.
Eyewitnesses claim that local Arabs prepared in advance the attack on a Jewish convoy to pass through the area of Abu Tor, near the Mount of Olives. Many rabbis have a long-standing tradition to visit the Mount of Olives during the intermediate days of Jewish festivals. Upon returning to his Jerusalem home, Rabbi Sternbuch instructed those who accompanied him to offer a prayer of salvation for miraculously returning home without any injury.