Safed Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu accused the judicial system of treating Jewish rioters more harshly than non-Jewish rioters following the terrorist shooting attack near Eli in which four civilians were murdered last Tuesday.
“In the Galilee, there is a phenomenon that is not seen everywhere, but it is seen in the south and sometimes even in Tel Aviv – protection. Criminals want to extort money from business owners. They burn buses, burn trucks and burn businesses. They turn to the police and the police say, ‘We know who it is, but we have no proof.’ So is the Shin Bet brought in, are administrative detentions used? No, it’s business as usual. No week passes here without buses or trucks being burned, so the insurance no longer want to provide insurance,” Rabbi Eliyahu said.

Rabbi Eliyahu continued: “Suddenly you hear that there was an attack and four Jews were murdered and people got angry – they burned cars, and burned houses, suddenly there are administrative arrests. Why? Against Jews it is allowed and against Arabs from the Galilee it is forbidden? Are there two sets of laws in this country? Is this acceptable to you? Acceptable to anyone? In the UN human rights law there is a passage, which is written in the Jewish Halacha from thousands of years ago, ‘You shall have one law’. A country that doesn’t have a single law for everyone, it’s not called a judicial system – it’s an anti-justice. system. May we have a real justice system.”
The rabbi’s statement follows the arrest of four Jews in connection with the riots in Arab localities which followed the deadly shooting attack. The suspects have not been allowed to meet with an attorney.