Menachem Cohen—a Chabad chasid and bereaved brother—was arrested on Friday after setting up a tefillin stand in memory of his brother, St. Sgt. Shneur Zalman Cohen, H’yd, who fell in the war in Gaza.

Cohen, together with several friends, set up a tefillin stand in Haifa, displaying a sign with his brother’s photo l’illui nishmaso.

At a certain point, a municipal inspection vehicle arrived, followed by another five police cars. Cohen was arrested, and the tefillin stand and sign were confiscated.

Chabad shliach in Haifa Rabbi Yehuda Ginsburg stated, “For over 50 years, Chabad has operated tefillin stands across Haifa. It has always taken place in a positive atmosphere. Unfortunately, there are those who try to inflame tensions. We expect the Haifa Municipality to apologize and work in coordination with this important activity. We are confident that this was a one-time error by the municipality.”

The police claimed, “Contrary to claims made in publications that may mislead the public, this involved the detention of an individual after a confrontation with municipal inspectors at the scene. To set the record straight, the police have no interest in harming tefillin stands, and the detention was unrelated to the tefillin stand he set up. The young man was released after several minutes following police clarification, and the matter will be examined with the municipality.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)