Alleged death threat against Tiberias mayor is a Facebook hoax

The hoax originated in a Facebook group for former Haredi called ‘A Shiksa on the balcony,’ which promised ‘500 proofs the Torah did not come down from heaven.’

By HAGAY HACOHEN
Tiberias mayor Ron Cobi (photo credit: FACEBOOK)
Tiberias mayor Ron Cobi
(photo credit: FACEBOOK)
The alleged death threat made against Tiberias Mayor Ron Cobi from Haredi extremists was actually a hoax posted on an anti-Haredi Facebook group, Israel Hayom reported on Monday.
Cobi, noted for leading an anti-Haredi movement in his city and pushing for public transportation services during Saturday, had allegedly received death threats from Haredi extremists.
The threat was actually a hoax posted on an-anti Haredi Facebook group called ‘A Shiksa on the balcony,’ which was sent via WhatsApp by one of the mayor’s security staff to his co-workers.
The original post depicted a front page newspaper from the day after former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated, with Cobi's name instead that of the murdered prime minister.
The security guard told police he originally mistook the post as an actual threat. Only after sharing it, he realized it was a warning call to be more cautious about threats against the mayor.
‘A Shiksa on the balcony’ is a Facebook group which claims to “represent 100,000 right-wing former Haredi,” promising to provide “500 proofs the Torah was not given from heaven.”
Shiksa is a Yiddish term to describe a young woman who is not Jewish, often used to describe an attractive female. The term is also used in Polish with the same meaning.