JERUSALEM (JTA) — The family of the man who went on a deadly stabbing spree at last year’s Jerusalem Pride parade has been banned from the city during this year’s march after being detained by police.
The brother of Yishai Schlissel, who stabbed six marchers at last year’s parade, killing a 16-year-old girl, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of planning an attack on this year’s march, which is scheduled for Thursday. Michael Schlissel will be kept in prison until after the march, according to reports. Yishai Schlissel, 40, is serving a life sentence.
Their mother and four other siblings have been ordered out of Jerusalem until after the march as well, though their home is in the city. They were all questioned by police on Wednesday, according to reports.
Yishai Schlissel, who is haredi Orthodox, had been released from prison several weeks before the 2015 parade after serving 10 years for a similar attack at the Jerusalem gay pride parade in 2005. In the days leading up to last year’s parade, Schlissel expressed his opposition to the march in interviews and in ads in haredi synagogues in Jerusalem and Kiryat Sefer.
Police initially turned away Schlissel at an entrance point to the parade, but he found a way in later in the route.
The parade is to be held under tight security and is dedicated in memory of last year’s victim, Shira Banki.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
