Cops and robbers on Shabbat in Jerusalem

March 15, 2009 - 5:12 PM by David

The scene of the crime.

It was a strange scene on our way to a bat mitzvah yesterday morning in Jerusalem. We were driving down Emek Refaim St. on the way to Kol Haneshama, and passed the Rendezvous women’s fashion store with the front plate glass window smashed to smithereens, and mannequins strewn around the sidewalk.

Two policemen were sitting on the side guarding the store against looters, we thought. Even though it looked like vandals had been at work over Shabbat, never a laughing matter, the way the mannequins were askew was actually quite comical. My wife remarked that it looked like they had been nabbed attempting a breakout, which cracked up the kids in the car.

It was only this morning that we opened the paper and saw that the shop had been the target of a robbery, and that the police had shot and killed one of the burglars. According to The Jerusalem Post, an Arab man and a Jewish woman reversed their Mazda 3 vehicle into the display window at the clothing store.

They then started filling the car with merchandise, when police arrived on the scene. The crooks ran into the car and attempted run over the cops, who opened fire in return. A car chase ensued, until a few blocks later the getaway car stopped and the driver, Salah Salaima, 30, tried to flee on foot. However, the police had succeeded in wouding him and he collapsed after a few yards and died of his wounds. The female suspect, in her 20s, was taken into custody.

Man, it was a good thing we didn’t know any of that while we sat in the synagogue. After that cops and robbers scene, the intrigue and excitement of the Parshat Shavua, Ki Tissei, and the saga of the Golden Calf, would have paled in comparison.

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