Last week, the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court deleted the 2-year-old criminal indictment against a Jewish woman in her 50s, which alleged that, among other things, she prayed on the Temple Mount, and then interfered with the operation of a police officer, insulted police officers, issued threats and exhibited disorderly conduct, Reshet Bet radio reported Tuesday morning.
According to the indictment, the woman ascended to the Temple Mount on two separate occasions to pray, and after breaking the rules that prohibit prayer by Jews at the site of two Jewish temples, police officers approached her (in the kind and understanding manner of Israeli police officers we have grown accustomed to – DI) and she went wild for some reason, threatening to harm one of them and even wished cancer on them.
However, in the midst of the legal process, the defendant, through her Public Defender attorney Rita Tahori, requested that Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit withdraw her indictment in consideration for her harsh circumstances: a single mother of two has been dealing for years with post-trauma resulting from a rape. The AG last week decided to comply with her request.
“We welcome the decision,” attorney Tahori told Reshet Bet. “This is a single mother who has been through and is dealing with severe trauma,” she said.
The court canceled the hearings in the case and the Attorney General’s decision includes a warning to the woman not to commit any offenses for a period of time, because, if she does, the AG may consider resuming the criminal proceedings against her.