Yishai Schlissel

Yishai Schlissel (also spelled Shlisel; Hebrew: ישי שליסל‎; born 10 December 1975) is a convicted Israeli criminal. He stabbed marchers during the Jerusalem gay pride parade in 2005, for which he served ten years in prison. On 30 July 2015, during the 2015 Jerusalem gay pride, he stabbed 16-year-old Shira Banki to death, and wounded six other people. The incident occurred just three weeks after his release from prison. On 24 August, Schlissel was indicted for murder, six counts of attempted murder, and wounding under aggravating circumstances,[1] and detained until the end of proceedings. On June 26 2016, he was sentenced to life plus 31 years in prison, as well as a fine of NIS 2,064,000 (around $650,000) in damages.[2]

Yishai Schlissel
Born10 December 1975
Yad Binyamin, Israel
NationalityIsraeli
Children4
MotiveReligious convictions
Conviction(s)Attempted murder, aggravated assault, murder,
Criminal penalty12 years in prison
Payment of compensation in the amount of 280 000 NIS for the three victims
Life plus 31 years in prison
Payment of compensation in the amount of 2 064 000 NIS

Early life

Schlissel was born on 10 December 1975 in Yad Binyamin.[3][4] He was the eldest of ten children. His parents are the children of Holocaust survivors. He studied in schools and later studied in a kolel in Jerusalem.[4]

Criminal acts and convictions

In 2005, Schlissel stabbed three marchers during the gay pride parade in Jerusalem.[5][6] As a result, he was convicted of attempted murder and aggravated assault,[7] and sentenced to twelve years in prison.[6] In 2007, his sentence was reduced to ten years on appeal. Schlissel served his sentence at Maasiyahu Prison. In 2008, he was hospitalized for a month and a half over mental health issues and diagnosed with a paranoid psychiatric condition.[8] Schlissel was released in June 2015.[9][10]

Shortly after his release, he distributed a homophobic letter in his hometown which read, "It is the obligation of every Jew to keep his soul from punishment and stop this giant desecration of God's name next Thursday."[11] He was not tracked by the Judea and Samaria Police District because his previous crime had occurred in Jerusalem, outside of their jurisdiction.[9] Moreover, Moshe Edry, the chief of the Jerusalem District Police, was not warned that Schlissel would be coming to Jerusalem.[9]

On 30 July 2015, only three weeks after being released, he stabbed six marchers during the Jerusalem gay pride parade.[5][6] The act was widely condemned,[12] including by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.[13] One of the victims, 16-year-old Shira Banki, died of her wounds at the Hadassah Medical Center three days later, on 2 August 2015.[11][14] Shortly after, Prime Minister Netanyahu offered his condolences, adding "We will deal with the murderer to the fullest extent of the law."[11]

A psychiatric evaluation by the Israel Prison Service, with which Schlissel refused to cooperate, found him fit to stand trial. However, after state psychiatrists argued that his refusal to cooperate rendered the evaluation inconclusive, the court ordered that he be hospitalized for a 48-hour observation period for reevaluation. He was again found fit to stand trial.[15] On 24 August 2015, Shlissel was charged with one count of murder and six counts of attempted murder and aggravated assault at the Jerusalem District Court.[16] He refused to recognize the authority of the court to try him because it did not abide by Jewish religious law.[17] He announced that he would refuse to be represented by an attorney, and did not cooperate with the public defender assigned to represent him. On April 19, 2016, he was convicted.[18] On June 26, 2016, he was sentenced to life plus 31 years in prison, and was ordered to pay NIS 2,064,000 in compensation to the families of his victims.

Schlissel is serving his sentence in Ayalon Prison. In August 2016, Schlissel tore up pictures of another inmate's daughters due to them being "immodestly dressed", and was subsequently beaten by the inmate until guards separated them. Schlissel was hospitalized as a result of the beating he sustained, and was temporarily placed in solitary confinement as a disciplinary measure. After prison authorities carried out an evaluation, it was decided to separate him from other inmates due to his volatile behavior, and he was given his own cell in a protected area of the prison. One month later, Schlissel was again attacked and had to be hospitalized after an argument between him and two convicted mobsters in the prison yard escalated to the mobsters beating him until guards intervened.[19][20]

Personal life

Before his prison sentence, Schlissel resided in Modi'in Illit, a Haredi Israeli settlement and city in the West Bank.[7] He is an Israeli ultra-Orthodox Jew.[5][6] Prior to his crime, he was married, with four children.[4] He divorced his wife at the beginning of his imprisonment in 2005.[4]

References
  1. , An indictment for murder against Yishai Schlissel, Haaretz, August 24, 2015 (Hebrew)
  2. , Life sentence for Jerusalem pride parade stabber who killed teen girl, The Jerusalem Post, June 26, 2016
  3. PM visits pride attack victim, defends ‘right to live in peace’, The Times of Israel, July 31, 2015
  4. ומופנם, או איש עקרונות קנאי - מי אתה ישי שליסל?, July 31, 2015
  5. Six stabbed at Jerusalem pride parade by same assailant who attacked parade in 2005, The Times of Israel, July 30, 2015
  6. Jerusalem Gay Pride: Six stabbed 'by ultra-Orthodox Jew', BBC News, July 30, 2015
  7. Chaim Levinson, Yaniv Kubovich, Israel Police to probe failure to monitor Jerusalem gay pride parade assailant, Haaretz, July 31, 2015
  8. http://10tv.nana10.co.il/Article/?ArticleID=1141498
  9. "6 stabbed at Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade by ultra-Orthodox Jewish assailant". Haaretz. July 30, 2015.
  10. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.668832
  11. Joe Williams, Victim of Jerusalem Pride attack dies of injuries, PinkNews, August 2, 2015
  12. "Yishai Schlissel: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. July 10, 2015.
  13. Stuart Winer, After attack on pride parade, PM condemns ‘despicable hate crime’, The Times of Israel, July 30, 2015
  14. Kubovich, Yaniv (August 2, 2015). "16-year-old stabbed in Jerusalem pride parade succumbs to wounds". Haaretz. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  15. https://www.timesofisrael.com/gay-parade-stabber-deemed-fit-to-stand-trial/
  16. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4693866,00.html
  17. https://www.timesofisrael.com/pride-parade-stabber-to-undergo-further-psychiatric-evaluation/
  18. "Jerusalem gay pride parade stabber convicted of murder". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. April 19, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  19. https://www.timesofisrael.com/gay-pride-killer-beaten-up-in-prison-in-argument-over-his-crime/
  20. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4842863,00.html
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