Haifa Man Charged with Vandalizing Church, Assaulting Druze Police Officer

A 34-year-old Haifa resident, Dean Mor, has been indicted for vandalizing a church and assaulting a police officer. The indictment, filed Friday in Haifa Magistrate's Court, alleges that Mor smashed a window at a church on Parsim Street in the city's Hadar HaCarmel neighborhood. The damage to the window was estimated at NIS 1,180.

According to the charges, the incident occurred on Sunday, the second day of Rosh Hashanah, around 8:00 AM. Mor allegedly entered the church, walked around, and climbed onto the priest's platform. After being escorted out by someone present, Mor reportedly picked up a stone and threw it, shattering a church window.

Following his arrest, Mor was taken to the Haifa police station. While waiting for his lawyer, the indictment states, he spat twice in the face of a Druze police officer and cursed him with a racist slur. Mor, who has no prior criminal record, confessed to the charges during his interrogation but claimed he felt threatened both in the church and at the police station.

The indictment does not attribute a religious motive or hate crime to the church incident. The police prosecution unit has requested that Mor be held in custody until the end of legal proceedings.