Watch: Settler rabbi speaks out against mosque arson

Peace activist Menachem Froman visits Palestinian village that was targeted in "price tag" attack, condemns graffiti.

By BENJAMIN SPIER
Qusaran Mosque (photo credit: benjamin spier)
Qusaran Mosque
(photo credit: benjamin spier)
An unlikely meet in the West Bank: Settler rabbi and peace activist Menachem Froman on Tuesday called for the arsonists of the mosque in Qusara to be expelled from Israel. Rabbi Froman, a resident of the Tekoa settlement, along with his colleagues from the Eretz Shalom movement, visited the Arab village in an attempt to quell tensions following Monday’s alleged "price tag" vandalism act.
Speaking by the desecrated mosque, Rabbi Froman said that both mosques and synagogues are considered Houses of God and that it is a sin to damage either. Froman and the Eretz Shalom activists received a mixed reception by the upset Palestinian residents of the village.
Residents claimed that this was just one example of ongoing harassment from neighboring settlers.
Earlier that day, Froman met with right-wing settler leader Rabbi Elyakim Levanon next to the houses that were demolished in Migron. Both rabbis condemned the house demolitions, but also dismissed “price tag” reprisal acts against Arabs.
The civil administration demolished three unauthorized homes in the Migron outpost early Monday morning. That same morning, a mosque was vandalized in the Qusara village, with graffiti implying the act as revenge for the homes demolished in Migron.