Menachem Cohen, a Chabad follower and bereaved brother, was arrested last Friday in Haifa during a personal commemoration activity in memory of his brother, soldier Sergeant Shneur Zalman Cohen, who fell in the Iron Swords War.
According to a report on Channel 7, Cohen, along with other friends, set up a stand for placing tefillin on the street, and placed a sign with his brother's picture, as part of a project to commemorate him.
At some point, a municipal inspection vehicle arrived at the scene, followed by reinforcements from several additional inspection and police vehicles.
Cohen was arrested, his tefillin stand and sign were confiscated, and he said he was even physically attacked during the arrest.
The arrest sparked outrage online, given the fact that he was a bereaved brother who worked to commemorate the fallen IDF soldiers - and only after public pressure was he released.
Chabad emissary to Haifa, Rabbi Yehuda Ginsburg: "For more than 50 years, Chabadniks have been going out throughout the city of Haifa, to put on tefillin and to honor Jews with the commandment of tefillin. It has always been in a good atmosphere. Unfortunately, there are those who try to stir up the spirits.".
He added: "We regret what is happening here. We expect the Haifa Municipality to apologize and work in coordination with this important activity, and we are sure that this is a one-time mistake by the municipality and not something permanent.".
The police stated: "Contrary to what is claimed in publications that may mislead the public, this is about the detention of a person after he confronted the municipality inspectors at the scene.
"To set things straight, the police have no interest in damaging the tefillin stands and have no connection to the tefillin stand he set up, but rather due to a noise offense and arguing with the inspectors who summoned the municipal police to the scene. The young man was released a few minutes later after the police investigation and this issue will be reviewed with the municipality.".
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