Chabad Shliach In Ra’anana Stabbed and Injured In Attack

by CrownHeights.info

A Chabad Shliach to Ra’anana was attacked and stabbed in an incident that the police are classifying a criminal assault.

According to the Shliach Rabbi Shneur Yitzhakov, he had just finished counseling a couple and was crossing a street when he found himself next to a deranged looking man.

“I looked into the eyes of someone right next to me at the crosswalk, Yitzhakov said in an interview with 103 FM. “His gaze just caught me, took me in, burning like a fire. Such a murderous gaze focused strongly on me. I did not understand what was happening.”

The man, who was wearing a Christian symbol suddenly yelled “Allah Akhbar” and attempted to stab the Shliach with a knife.

The Shliach though had acted first, engaging the 17-year-old and wrestling him to the ground where the person he had been counseling came running and assisted him in subduing the attacker.

“All this happened at the crosswalk. There was no one there,” he said. “We were fighting hard and I overpowered him. He kept trying to stab my upper body and I didn’t let him. I kicked and punched him and finally, I sat on him.”

The Shliach sustained injuries to his leg, but was released from the hospital soon after.

While the investigation remains in its initial stages, the police have indicated that they believe the attack was criminally motivated and not a case of terror.