According to a HaMevaser report, there is much anger and shock among rabbonim and chareidi askanim over the use of brutal force against protestors on Shabbos in Jerusalem.
The report states that Yassam tactical forces were ordered to disperse the crowd, and they entered the protest and began swinging their batons indiscriminately, without any justification. Many people were injured as a result, some requiring medical attention. The use of a water cannon also resulted in damage to many people’s shabbos clothing.
The newspaper reports receiving “many complaints” from people who were making their way home from shul on motzei shabbos and they were assaulted by police. It adds that it appears the policemen on the scene received orders from higher up to crush the protestors at any price and to strike out at anyone in the area.
Over 50 people were arrested, including small children and youths about 14, who are alleged to have assaulted police when it is know this was not the case. The report alleges that the brutality of police led to the escalation in violence and the closure of a number of streets on motzei shabbos and on Sunday, protests aimed at decrying the actions of law-enforcement officials.
The report also decries police actions permitting counter-protestors to reach the chareidi protest, carrying signs “Today there is a secular government in City Hall”, adding more fuel to the pained protestors who lamented the chilul shabbos.
Additional complaints surround police refusal to permit kosher food to be brought to the prisoners the entire day on Sunday.
In Bayit Vegan, reports were received that police entered the dormitory building of Yeshiva Kol Torah during the night, while bochrim were asleep, and dragged them out of bed and placed them under arrest, claiming they attacked police with rocks and other objects.
MK Uri Maklev has already contacted Police Chief Dudi Cohen, demanding an investigation and demanding to know who gave the order to burst into the yeshiva dorm in the middle of the night. Students were literally dragged from their beds he explained, some beaten, all the while unaware what and why this was taking place.
The report adds “senior police commanders aware of the seriousness of the allegations and the unacceptable actions of police on Sunday night, the commanders likely to pay the price for those actions, visited the yeshiva and expressed their sorrow for the events that occurred”.
Askanim remain determined to continue a tenacious battle against Jerusalem City Hall and its decision which results in increased chilul shabbos, the report concludes.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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33 Responses
v’hamalchus tihapech liminus.
B”H yeish tochacha
The secular press is expressing outrage at the Hareidim for rioting, and approval of the police for “teaching them a lesson.” They feel the police did the right thing in striking a blow for the rights of Israelis against the evil Hareidim, and that further actions against the Hareidim are warranted.
If the rabbonim are shocked, they had been misinformed as to how the secular Jews feel towards us (something I am quite skeptical of).
Israeli police are no better than Nazis
basmelech – your comment is shocking, how do you justify the comparison??
there is more antisemitism in Israel then most countries-its very hard to explain this to children.
that is why i chose to move to America-
Although it is possible, but i don’t think the Bochurim weren’t doing anything. As a bochur, if there is a riot going on outside your dorm, you firstly cannot be sleeping. Second of all the cops are not stupid, if they see a rock coming from a building they will go in, they aren’t making up stories and just pick a random building. It could be some of the bochurim didn’t do anything, but they definitely weren’t sleeping while the cops came in.
basmelech
every such comment, ignorant of who the Nzis were, is another brick in the wall that covers up what the Holocaust was.
Now is the time for the police to vent their anger against the chareidim for the years of Chareidi control of city hall.
As someone who has witnessed the police actions, there was little about controlling the crowd and everything about being bullies. This started as a peaceful prayer protest and it was the actions of the police that made it into the violence that was seen. How can anyone justify the beatings of 14 year olds. Do heads need to be pounded into walls, and bones scarred by violent thugs swinging batons? Most of the police were not true Israelis, and many of them were Druze and Ethiopian.
What we witnessed here, had it been done against the arabs, we would have the UN screaming.
The police in Israel should be embarrased by their actions. There is no justification, regardless of what the protesters supposedly did.
The actions of the police were totally predictable (and I did predict them last week) as were the actions of 1000’s of teenage chareidim who don’t know how to behave. They incited each other, resulting in chilul Shabbas, chilul HaSh-m, and injuries and damage. Had the demonstration been held peacefully by a few dozen Gedolim, instead of a balagan we could have had a Kidush Hash-m.
rj- just go there and watch
#6, I am happy to see that you are being “dan l’kaf z’chus” the police. That is exactly what the mishnah in Pirkei Avos means, and you are applying it the way the tana’im wanted us to. We are proud that you are a part of Klal Yisroel. Shame on you!
by the way most yasamnikim are not Jewish
#8–There was a Hareidi mayor for only one term. Before that Olmert was mayor. There certainly hasn’t been “years” of Hareidi control.
The struggle between the Jews and the Israelis (or Caananites as they called themselves 50 years ago) is one for control of Eretz Yisrael. Either Israel will be a Jewish state (meaning the secular ruling class will be forced to leave, or accept minority status), or a secular modern state (leaving us as an oppressed minority hoping for as much autonomy as we had under the Muslims before 1914). The other option is a Muslim state (which for hareidim may or may not be better than a secular state).
This sort of conduct is done to the Arabs on a regular basis. As most secular Israelis perceive hareidim as being as much a threat to their way of life as the Arabs, the more we assert a right to be other than a marginalized subculture, the more we can expect to be put down.
THG
Where you around to watch the Nazis in action to be able to make the comparison? I haven’t seen either in action, but must I remind you that the Nazis killed 6 million?
This is what went on in Iran.
Last time i checked, Bayit Vegan is a half hour bus ride from Meah Shearim-
Were the Bachurim dragged out from Kol Torah Americans or Israelis?
While not justifying the overreaction by police, there are unfortunately young hotheads who do their best to provoke them. I saw video of people throwing rocks and bottles at police. There is no excuse for that. In fact there were cars with loudspeakers urging peope to disperse.It is chillul shabbos and a chillul hashem. What happened Friday night on Bar Illan at the mass kabolas Shabbos was a gevaldige Kiddush hashem. What happened on motzei shabbos in Meah Shearim was just the opposite.
obamanaz –
Demonstrators were killed in Iran, was anyone killed in Yerushalyim?
I’m not here to defend the Israeli police by any stretch, but let’s try to keep things in perspective. The overheated empty rhetoric is plain stupid.
Smarter people than i, are needed for the proper approach and reply.
I am here to state i am embarrassed to be part of the same group as BAS-MELECH and THG.
Thanx to all the infighting, they ended up with a Chiloni for Mayor. They have only themselves to blame.
When we splinter and vote a non shomer shabbos into office as mayor of our ” eer hakodesh ” we obviously get what we paid for.
#16
The bochurim dragged out of Kol Torah were all Israelis, most wearing pyjamas. My son was dragged off the street 100yards from there whilst taking money out of a cash machine on the trumped up charge of throwing stones at the police. He is not Israeli and had nothing to do with the hafgonos.
The next time Palestinians claim that they were beaten and tortured by police, should we believe the Palestinians, or the police?
#6 you are wrong . almost dead wrong.
i was there
i witnessed the “selection process” of the arrested.
as we say “Rubo Kekulo” are not at all perpetrators.
the orders are given (and i know its hard to believe) to get them in beat them up. no difference who.
make a statement . intimidate. scare. freak them. shake them . torture them.
the order givers and the order takers are GUILTY.
the arrested are usualy fully and completely not even connected to the issues.
the rock throwers and fire setters are hardly ever ever caught.
POLITICAL yes
ACCURATE no
Reason for any lover and seeker of justice to be outraged YES YES YES.
The mayor must GO, or change his ways.
POLICE BRUTALITY UNACCEPTABLE >ILLEGAL AND SHOULD BE PROSECUTED WiTH ROLLING HEADS. FROM THE TOP DOWN!!!!!
basmelech (#3):
Thank you for speaking what we all think.
Thank you for having the courage to say what we all know.
Chaverim #25,
While your comments in the past were always somewhat extreme, you have gone way over the line here. By supporting basmelech’s comments (#3), you have insulted all six million of the kedoshim who were murdered a kiddush haShem.
Basmelech’s comment was truly sickening.
bas melech..you’re opinion is terrible. remember just as you are a bas melech they are bnei melech as well regardless of wether they behave properly or not. they are Hashem’s children, not nazis.
everyone else remember that it takes two to tango. on the heels of these weeks parsha we should remember that chazal tell us that there is no such thing as a one sided argument since the one between moshe and korach. and also remember that as soon as korach rebelled moshe and aharon did not throw rocks or burn trash cans, they fell on their faces in tefillah. and moshe and aharon certainly didn’t call korah and his followers “nazis”.(or amalekites)
love yidden no matter who they are or what they do…im sure Hashem loves that more than name calling.
dd, Thank you for the compliment (as what you said [despite being factually incorrect] is coming from you.)
basmelech, I thank you once again for your courageous point.
It is an outrage that anyone can compare Israeli police to the Nazis. As bad as the police may have acted they are not murdering 6,000,000 Jews. These statements are disgusting and a chillul hashem.
I am thankful that I don’t live near Meah Shearim. I do not condone any police brutality. However, I wonder why frum yidden throw trash and dirty diapers on policemen. I wonder why youth throw stones. Of course we should protest. It should be done peacefully. How would you react if diapers were thrown on you? Stones are sakanas nefashos, and therefore anyone throwing one should be arrested. many comments here say the protesters were totally innocent. Who are you trying to fool? There are pictures of teenagers throwing things.
Our society needs to wake up and make a cheshbon hanefesh.
Do all of you really read what you write before you click submit?
Please, everybody, before you click Submit, try your comments out on 5 people, and if they all feel it is appropriate, only then publish it to all.
Remember, when you blog, you are speaking to everybody. It is NOT, I repeat it is not a private conversation.
As we near the 3 weeks, let us all try to work on judging each other favorably, and not assuming anything ,or making any rash comparisons or comments.
Avol asheimim anachnu…
We could of had a frum Mayor. Those who oppossed didn’t even try to fix the matzav. On the other hand we all know who are the chevra that create the atmosphere and vandalize. Its a shame that the same Rabbonim don’t make it their chiyuv to stop these Mechalelai Shaim Shomayim. Its horrible to think that we’re at the replay of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza…
All this defense of the Israeli Yassamnikim is really amazing. I suppose if they were here in uniform all these commenters would also be banging on shtreimels and ripping the Chassidim’s clothes.
And likewise I’m sure they support Aminjad in Iran, a democratically-elected leader, in the ‘chillul hashem’ protests of a few ‘democratic’ hotheads gone overboard. What a terrible thing for the Mousawi people to take to the streets…my, my.
It’s a shame when you see the real reason, underneath their sneers, for how they feel about their fellow Jews…
all those who ask on comment #4 have you ever seen thier behavior i doubt you dont have to be satmar to relize the emes who the medina is WAKE UP