According to a Kikar Shabbat report, a Jerusalem municipality inspector on Friday, pulled out a knife and threatened to stab an avreich. The incident occurred in the Ramat Eshkol neighborhood of the capital.

Yaakov Machlouf parked his car as he and his nine-year-old son were shopping for Shabbos. When he returned to his vehicle he was a municipal inspector issuing him a summons. When he asked why he was receiving a summons the response was a verbal attack which escalated to a verbal conflict, culminating with the inspector brandishing a knife and threatening to stab Yaakov.

He told Kikar Shabbat the inspector stated “I don’t want to see you! Get out of here!”

“When I asked him why he was addressing me in this fashion and to ‘explain yourself’ he told me to get out of his face. When I asked what he problem was he responded ‘you chareidim are all the same’”.

Yaakov has no doubt as to the identity of the man, who was wearing his uniform, explaining “he is looking for my family. I filed a complaint with police”.

The young avreich explains the trauma of the situation and how it impacted his son who is now afraid to leave their home. He is calling on chareidi askanim and community elected officials to address the case and remove the threat from his life. Jerusalem police officials confirm that a complaint was filed and the matter was under investigation.

Kikar reports that despite numerous attempts to obtain a response from Jerusalem City Hall, no response was forthcoming.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)