JERUSALEM (JTA) — Rabbi Dov Lior, the chief rabbi of the West Bank settlement Kiryat Arba, is leaving his position to move to eastern Jerusalem.
Lior decided just before Rosh Hashanah to step down from the post he has held for 38 years in order to relocate to Beit Orot, a neighborhood on the Mount of Olives, the Hebrew language Kipa website reported Sunday. In recent weeks, Beit Orot has been the scene of increased violence by Palestinian youths throwing rocks and fireworks at police and the yeshiva.
Lior, 80, reportedly bought an apartment there two years ago.
In 2011, police questioned the rabbi over his support for the scholarly book “The King’s Torah,” which reportedly discusses situations in which it is permissible for Jews to kill non-Jews.
Lior is also known for saying that Jews should not rent homes to Arabs in Israel and for a proposal calling on Israeli soldiers to refuse orders to remove Jews from West Bank settlements.
