Ugly scenes arose outside of a synagogue near Melbourne, Australia, on Thursday, as a man picked a fight with a group of Orthodox Jews.
A police statement indicated the conflict outside the Adass Israel Synagogue when the man was spotted trying to steal a child’s scooter, and things escalate when he shoves one man in the throat who requested he ‘talk nicely’.
Having evaded several punches thrown in retaliation the man shows no signs of wanting to step away from the conflict.
Eventually he turns his focus to a Rabbi, shouting at him to ‘go back to Israel’. He then grabs the Rabbi and quickly learns he has made a massive error in judgement as he is swiftly floored and restrained.
Some outlets reported the crazed man was an anti-Semite, but this was quickly dispelled by the Rabbi himself.
Speaking to the Daily Mail Australia he said:
It was an isolated incident and it was handled very well. It wasn’t anti-Semitic. The guy was on drugs and ice.”
The Rabbi has since been commended by the Facebook group IDF Training for his “perfect application of IDF Training techniques” to restrain the attacker.
The 39-year-old was charged with theft and criminal damage. He will appear in court on January 19.
