Shas chairman MK Aryeh Deri visited Ichilov Hospital on Thursday evening together with Religious Affairs Ministry Director-General Yehuda Avidan to see Gedalyahu Ben Shimon, chairman of the Religious Council in Ramat Gan and Ra’anana, who remains hospitalized in serious condition after being severely wounded in a stabbing attack in Ramat Gan. They were accompanied by the hospital’s director-general, Dr. Eli Sprecher.

Speaking outside the patient’s room, Deri said, “There was a very great miracle here. Reb Gedalyahu comes from a family of great righteous people. I heard from the doctors about his severe condition when he was brought into surgery, and by the grace of Heaven they succeeded in saving his life.”

Deri added that prayers must continue for Ben Shimon’s recovery. “We must continue to pray for his complete recovery. Let us pray that with Hashem’s help the hand of Israel will prevail and that we will no longer know such acts of terror.”

Earlier in the day, Deri released a statement expressing shock over the attack. “I am shaken to the depths of my soul by the despicable attack carried out by a vile individual against the chairman of the Ramat Gan Religious Council, attorney Gedalyahu Ben Shimon, who was wounded and is in serious condition. I call on the public to increase prayers for the complete recovery of Gedalyahu ben Yeshuah.”

Israel’s Sephardic Chief Rabbi, the Rishon LeTzion, Rav Dovid Yosef, also called on the public to daven for the injured official. “I call on every Jew to intensify prayers and arouse abundant Heavenly mercy for the emissary of the rabbinate, the highly active Gedalyahu ben Yeshuah, may he live long, and to recite Chapter 20 of Tehillim, ‘Ya’ancha b’yom tzarah,’ for his recovery.”

As previously reported, Gedalyahu Ben Shimon, chairman of the Ramat Gan Religious Council and a member of the Shas party, was stabbed earlier in the day on a street in Ramat Gan. He was evacuated to the hospital with multiple stab wounds and is listed in serious condition.

The attack occurred at approximately 3:15 p.m., when an Arab teenager, reportedly about 15 years old, approached the chareidi official and stabbed him several times. Reports indicate that the assailant shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the attack, strengthening suspicions that the incident was a terrorist assault.