JERUSALEM (JTA) — Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman, the leader of the non-hasidic Lithuanian Ashkenazi community, was attacked at his home in Israel.
Shteinman, 99, suffered a bruise on his chest but was unhurt otherwise during the attack in Bnei Brak early Wednesday morning, The Jerusalem Post reported. His attacker — a haredi Orthodox man in his 20s — was arrested after being restrained by associates and followers of the rabbi until police arrived. The attacker shook and yelled at the rabbi.
The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court ordered the attacker to be held over until Thursday and sent for a psychiatric evaluation.
Witnesses told police that the man said he was hearing voices telling him to attack Shteinman, The Jerusalem Post reported. The haredi news website Kikar Hashabat reported that the attack was related to Tuesday’s elections in which Shteinman’s Degel Hatorah party won eight seats on the Jerusalem Municipal Council, even though Moshe Lion, his endorsed candidate for mayor, lost.
