Magen David Adom ambulance (illustration)
Magen David Adom ambulance (illustration)iStock

Elijah Shapiro, 74, was attacked by three thugs on his way back from the synagogue in Haifa on Saturday.

His son, Aryeh Shapiro, told Arutz Sheva: "On Saturday I was with my parents in Haifa. My father returned from synagogue alone. We saw that he was delayed and we started the meal without him. Suddenly he came home with a large and frightening wound on the back of his neck that was dripping blood."

"I was sure he had fallen. I approached him and saw bloodstains on his shirt and a large wound under his lip. I asked him, 'Dad what happened?' And he replied, 'I've been beaten."

Aryeh said that his father is "a very quiet man who did not want to cause a stir or go to the hospital. We drew him out and slowly he told us about three young Russian-speaking thugs, one of them a skinhead, who tried to demand cigarettes and money and he explained that it was the Sabbath. And then when they understood that he's religious they beat him brutally."

"I called the police and MDA. They came to the house and took him to the hospital to get stitches. We filed a complaint. I asked the police what could be done and they said they would conduct searches and perhaps with the help of cameras they could find the culprits. In the meantime, there were no developments."