Mayor decries Beit Shemesh attack

The incident occurred during the daylight hours of last Wednesday, when the man called the victim a prostitute because he said her skirt was too short.

By JEREMY SHARON
Arrest [illustrative] 370 (photo credit: Nir Elias/Reuters)
Arrest [illustrative] 370
(photo credit: Nir Elias/Reuters)
Newly reelected Beit Shemesh Mayor Moshe Abutbul deplored on Tuesday an attack on a woman in the city by an ultra-Orthodox man last week.
The incident occurred during the daylight hours of last Wednesday, when the man called the victim a prostitute because he said her skirt was too short.
The woman, a member of the city’s modern-Orthodox community, called the police while she was being verbally abused and the assailant then physically attacked and beat her, causing bruising to her legs and back.
The attacker turned himself in to the police the following day.
Abutbul, the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) mayor who was reelected last month following a bitterly fought campaign, issued a statement on Tuesday in which he spoke out strongly against the attack.
“I strongly condemn this violent incident, something that is forbidden according to the law and according to the Torah,” the Shas mayor said.
“I have asked the chief of police in Beit Shemesh to strongly pursue this case. I also addressed the entire city police force and underlined my policy of zero-tolerance to violence.”