Haifa Man Charged With Vandalizing Church, Assaulting Police Officer

A 34-year-old Haifa resident, Dean Mor, has been indicted for damaging a church and assaulting a police officer. The indictment, filed Friday in the Haifa Magistrate's Court, alleges that Mor smashed a window at a church on Parsim Street in the city's Hadar HaCarmel neighborhood. He then allegedly spat twice at a Druze police officer and used a racist slur against him at the police station after his arrest.

The incident occurred on Sunday, the second day of Rosh Hashanah, around 8:00 AM. According to the charges, Mor entered the church, walked around, and climbed onto the priest's platform. After being asked to leave by someone present, Mor allegedly picked up a stone and threw it, shattering a church window valued at 1,180 shekels. The indictment does not attribute a religious motive or hate crime to the church incident.

Following his arrest, Mor was taken to the Haifa police station. While awaiting a lawyer, the indictment states, he spat at a Druze officer and used a racist slur. Mor, who has no prior criminal record, confessed to the acts during his interrogation but claimed he felt threatened both in the church and at the police station.

Mor's remand was extended until further notice by Magistrate Inbal Keren, who found sufficient initial evidence and grounds for detention. The police prosecutor argued that the incident occurred in a sensitive religious site. Mor's defense attorney requested his release, even with restrictive conditions, citing that the spitting occurred while Mor was restrained and that the window damage did not warrant continued detention, especially given his lack of a criminal past and the indictment not specifying a crime against a holy site.

A hearing on the police's request to detain Mor until the end of legal proceedings is scheduled for next week.