A Lod imam was indicted Thursday on charges of incitement to violence during the May riots in the mixed city.
An indictment against Imam Yosef Muhammad Elbaz, 63, was filed in the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court for inciting violence against police on Facebook and for threatening Lod Deputy Mayor Yossi Harush.
According to the charges, Elbaz was accused of posting a video on Facebook of the violent murder of two police officers, and he attached a text encouraging people to carry out similar acts. The post was viewed by thousands of people.
Elbaz blamed Harush for his alleged provocation of the riots. He was accused of posting a threat in which he promised that Harush would “pay the price.”
“With regards to the war that you wage against us... we promise you, we are responsible enough to make you understand that we will freely give up our souls for the goal of educating you and ending your bullying,” Elbaz’s post said.
The State Attorney’s Office asked the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court to keep Elbaz under restrictive conditions until the end of legal proceedings, including no access to the Internet or permission to leave the country.
Religious Zionist Party MK Itamar Ben-Gvir said the case had been taken seriously, but “it is not enough. Indictments should be filed against all instigators... the prosecutor’s office must handle all these cases in complete seriousness.”
Gilad Ach, CEO of the right-wing organization Ad Kan, said: “An indictment against the inciting imam is a welcome step. But it must be just the beginning. Ad Kan collected a lot of evidence in Lod – documentation, information, names of suspects and other material, which was all submitted to the police.”
“The picture that emerged from the collection is clear,” he said. “Al Omri Mosque, where the sheikh serves as an imam, is a major incitement center: Violent riots are coming out of it, means of attack are being stored there, and the place serves as a hotbed for terrorism against the Jews in Lod. Dozens of others and hundreds of activists are involved in this, and everyone must be arrested – and terrorism cut off in the city of Lod.”
Ad Kan was responsible for initially gathering evidence on the imam and the mosque where Elbaz worked. After gathering enough material, it transferred it to the police, leading to his arrest and indictment.
“We hope that the indictment against the sheikh will include all his actions and not just a single case,” Ach said. “The sheikh has been documented inciting and harming Jews and Israel on multiple occasions.”
“It is time for the police and the Shin Bet [Israel Security Agency] to launch a comprehensive operation in the Arab cities involved in the collection of illegal weapons, black money, drug labs and the arrest of antisemites such as Elbaz,” he said. “The situation has crossed all reasonable limits, and we have no other enforcement.”
The right-wing organization Im Tirtzu said: “This inciting sheikh needs to finish his life behind bars. Whoever repeatedly promotes violence against Israelis needs to pay the price.”