A young man and vaccine opponent began shouting insults at the leader of the Lithuanian (Litvish) Haredi sector, Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, as he was lecturing in the Ponovitch Yeshiva in Bnei Brak.
Attendees stopped the young man and prevented him from attacking the 98-year-old Rabbi. Rabbi Edelstein was not injured in the incident and continued with his day as planned.
The suspect in the attack is known for opposing vaccination against COVID-19. His attack was apparently motivated by Rabbi Edelstein urging the public to get vaccinated.
A police statement on the incident read: ''The police opened an investigation upon receiving a report of a man who tried to attack a Rabbi near his home, taking into account the suspect’s known opposition to the vaccines. Police officers arrived at the scene and spotted the suspect raging and shouting. The suspect was brought for questioning at the police station and, based on the findings at said questioning, will be brought to the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court for a hearing on the extension of his detention."