An official of the Ministry for Religious Affairs pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges of negligence in the death of David Palombo, the internationally-known Israeli sculptor, who was killed last August when his scooter crashed into a chain across the road to Mount Zion on a Saturday night. The accident revived the controversy in Israel over the role of rabbinic law in Israel.
The magistrate ordered the trial to start in January for Rabbi Amram Blau, who is in charge of Mount Zion maintenance. One of his assignments is to block the road on the Sabbath. The indictment charged that Rabbi Blau failed to take necessary measures to warn drivers after the chain was put in place on that Sabbath. The defendant is not related to the leader of the Neturei Karta zealots organization, who has the same name.
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