Jerusalem District Court Judge Rivka Friedman today (Monday) rejected the appeal filed by the police and ordered the release of Bentzi Gopstein to house arrest until Thursday. Gopstein, chairman of the Lehava organization to fight intermarriage and assimilation, was arrested yesterday morning and the Magistrate's Court ordered his release to house arrest after finding the evidence against Gopstein inadequate. The police decided to file an appeal against the decision, but the District Court again rejected the police position. Gopstein was arrested at his home on suspicion of committing a single offense of making threats. Attorney Itamar Ben-Gvir argued that Gopstein's activity against assimilation was not racism and presented a series of court decisions in which suspects were released against whom there were more serious suspicions. In the end, Justice Friedman determined that the suspicion against Gopstein was "at a very low level" and ordered his release to house arrest until Thursday.
