Police issue arrest warrant for Rabbi Dov Lior

Kiryat Arba rabbi's refusal to report for incitement investigation prompts arrest warrant. Settlers' committee slams 'slap in the face,' Peace Now says 'too little too late'

The police issued an arrest warrant for the rabbi of Kiryat Arba, Dov Lior, after he refused to report for an inquiry.

Police are investigating Rabbi Lior and other rabbis over suspicions of incitement in connection with the publication of the book Torat Hamelech, which endorses the murder of gentiles.

Last summer Lior addressed the issue of the investigation against him and said that "rabbis are elected representatives, chosen to express the Torah's knowledge. They must share the halachic dictate and not fear the repercussions." Lior was summoned by the police a number of times but following his refusal to turn up for the investigation, he received the warrant at his home.

The arrest warrant hasn't made much of an impression on the rabbi, who made it clear that his refusal to report for the police investigation stands. The Jewish community in Hebron was angered by the warrant and is planning protest measures, beginning with a demonstration on Tuesday.

"This is a declaration of war from the State Prosecution against the Jewish faith and," charged the Samaria and Binyamin Settler Committee. "This warrant is a slap in the face of the Jewish people past and present.

"It is a foolish act meant to deter rabbis from expressing their religious opinion. We call on all those who care about the religious character of their country to get up and oppose – bodily if necessary - this wildly anti-Jewish move."

In contrast, the Secretary General of Peace Now said the warrant was "too little too late." According to Yariv Oppenheimer, "when racism runs wild in the streets the state must arrest and indict dozens of rabbis, heads of organizations and public figures who preach against renting apartments to Arabs and against employing them.

The Neemanei Torah Va'Avoda movement said in response that "the needless stubbornness at the beginning of this affair in refusing to cooperate with law enforcement authorities led us to places that no one wants to get to.

"Israel's rabbis must respect the laws of the land like any citizen in Israel; this commitment receives halachic backing in the Talmudic principle of Dina DeMalchuta Dina, which is why refusal to cooperate with law enforcement authorities not only creates the impression that some citizens are above the law, it is also against Jewish Law.

"At the same time, those same law enforcement authorities' actions merit self-examination over whether they treat public figures from the left and right ends of the political spectrum equally."