Jewish extremist leader questioned for incitement over anti-Christian article
The case revolves an article he published on an ultra-Orthodox website last December in which he branded Christian missionaries “blood-sucking vampires.”
By BEN HARTMANRabbi Bentzi Gopstein(photo credit: ARIK SULTAN)
Bentzi Gopstein, far-right extremist and head of the anti-assimilation group “Lahava”, was questioned by Judea and Samaria District Police on Thursday on suspicion of incitement for statements made against Christians.The case involves an article he published on an ultra-Orthodox website last December in which he branded Christian missionaries “blood-sucking vampires” and called for them to be expelled from Israel.He also wrote that “Christmas has no place in the Holy Land.”The article came following a number of incidents in which Israeli extremists, including members of Lahava have been charged with vandalism and arson of Christian religious sites in Israel.In a statement on Thursday, Gopstein said that “throughout the generations Jews were made to suffer by Christian missionaries” and that “it’s sad that now that we have a Jewish government, a Jewish Police Commissioner and Attorney General, the police find it fitting to question me for what I wrote against missionaries.”