Scandal
Photo: Index Open
Illustration Photo: Index Open
'Senior priest blackmailed by Palestinian lover'
Following sexual relations with young man who renovated his home, well known Arab cleric ordered to pay $100,000 in exchange for videotape documenting his actions; three suspects arrested
Roee Nahmias
Published: 05.11.10, 08:01 / Israel News
A new scandal involving a senior Arab priest is rocking Israel's Christian-Arab community. Ynet has learned that according to the suspicions, a senior Arab priest was blackmailed on sexual grounds by two men.
According to several sources, the cleric had an intimate relationship with a 21-year-old Palestinian from east Jerusalem when the latter was renovating his house.
Palestinian sources said the young man's friend became part of the sexual relations – which were given for money - about two months ago. At a certain stage, the sources added, the priest stopped paying for the "service".
Later on, the two young men approached the cleric, informed him that he had been videotaped, and demands $100,000 for the tape. The amazed priest decided to go the police, which launched an investigation. The two men were caught in a trap set by the investigators, and the police have arrested another suspect in the affair.
The religious scholar involved in the affair is in his 50s and has filled a series of roles in the church and in its education institutions over the years. He is known for his harsh and firm speeches, as well as for his nationalistic and anti-Israel opinions, and is a well known figure in the West Bank. The same man has extensive ties Arab elements in the Palestinian Authority, in Israel and abroad. In the past, he was even suspected of having illegal ties with foreign agents http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3887802,00.html