Vandals have once again desecrated the kever of the Lelover Rebbe, Rav Shimon Nosson Nota Biderman zt”l, on Har Hazeisim. Lelover chassidim were shocked to discover the desecration when they arrived at the kever yesterday. The vandals also set fire to a portion of the kever.
The tombstone on the kever was erected a few months ago following the shloshim of the Rebbe, who was niftar on the night of Yom Kippur.
It is assumed that Arab residents of the area carried out the vandalism.
Har Hazeisim has seen this kind of vandalism before. Members of chevrei kadisha have discovered a number of broken tombstones in the past.
This latest incident comes 3 months after an earlier vandalism of the Rebbe’s kever. At that time, in early December, Chassidim found that the matzeivah had been smashed.
After the first vandalism, police first said that it was not clear whether the attackers knew that they were desecrating the kever of a Rebbe or whether they chose the kever at random. Police Chief Ilan Franko said, though, that the large crowds that come to visit and daven at the kever may have resulted in Arabs targeting the site in order to demoralize as many people as possible.
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{Yair Alpert-Matzav.com Israel}
