[VIDEO IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]
This incident occurred on erev Lag B’Omer, during the evening hours, before most people began lighting bonfires around Israel. A groups of children including the 13-year-old child in this video prepared their bonfire, which happened to be in proximity to a pile of dried thorns. Policeman Elior Ben-Baruch arrived on the scene, and according to the children, “He acted like a bully and began screaming at everyone”, adding some of the children ran out of fear. Ben-Baruch the children explain decided to stop the 13-year-old child, who they described as “among the best behaved children in the community”.
According to eyewitness report, the policeman used unjustifiable force against the child, choking him, and knocking him to the ground. In the video one sees the policeman simply loses his cool entirely as the boy’s agitated mom continues screaming and pleading with Ben-Baruch on her son’s behalf.
Other parents on the scene explain they failed to understand why Ben-Baruch detained the child, adding when Ben-Baruch called for backup he radioed he needs assistance because he was attacked. They add that Ben-Baruch threatened the child’s parents with arrest a number of times as well.
After shouting at the child’s parents a number of times and refusing to hear from adults who witnessed the events that occurred, the child was taken into a police car to jail. When the father asked to permit him to bring his son to the police station in the family vehicle Ben-Baruch refused.
According to a Kol Hazman News report, the parents added instead of enjoying Lag B’Omer with their children, they had to work with the children to allay their fears of police after seeing the behavior of office Ben-Baruch.
Kol Hazman News adds police did not comment at the time of the report.
A few days ago YWN-ISRAEL reported a case involving the assault by a policeman against a chareidi male in Beit Shemesh. In addition, there is also the case involving off-duty border policemen who beat an Arab man in front of a Tel Aviv supermarket. The last two cases are being investigated by the Justice Minister Police Investigations Unit.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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11 Responses
What a country!
Does anybody know in which city this police abuse took place?
The Midrash says if you speak lashon hara against the goyim, you will come to speak it against the Jews.
And so we see that former solders who were trained to abuse Arab children now abuse Jewish children.
What a countr this is with the way the CITIZENS act. I live here, I’m chareidi, and I’m appalled at the HOOLIGANS like the parents of this kid who obviously wasn’t arrested for acting like a sweet little angel! Police don’t arrest 14 year olds for nothing. If he behaved anything near like the kids right outside my window on Lag BaOmer then he deserved it. And no wonder he turned out like he did with a mother screaming like a banshee and everyone hitting the cop in the kid’s defense. People here have no regard for the law, build huge bonfires in the most dangerous places- next to dry trees, between buildings, near electric wires… and they get all up in arms when the city comes to break them down. BIG mitzvah to honor the memory of R’Shimon bar Yochai on everyone else’s cheshbon- What happened to bein adam lechavero? Aren’t they missing the point? Maybe they forgot about R’ Akiva’s talmidim and why they died???
YWN, why is this not a “SHOCKING VIDEO” like all the videos of the opposite nature?!?!?!
Whether or not the boy broke the law is immaterial. the use of physical force by a policeman on a minor IS THE ISSUE.
If a policeman that big had to use excessive force to restrain a little boy, he shouldn’t be a policeman.
This is even crazier because the Israeli police told me they don’t detain minors!
Oh, poor little cop, he keeps on screaming “It doesn’t matter if he is a child, he was disrespectful to a cop!”
Then he threatens everybody with pepper spray? Someone should have knocked the cop over his head a few times and let him go cry to his mother.
After Eight, oh yes they do arrest 14yr olds for nothing. And here’s an example of it. What do you expect the mother to do, accept abuse of her child?
DikDukDuck, the Israeli police, military, and government lie about everything. You can’t believe a word they say.
I Know Elior and the other police officers involved personally. I was not there but was told the whole story. Elior responded after the officer who asked the parents for their and the child’s information pushed his s.o.s. button when they got hysterical and started screaming and shoving. An officer asks for ones info only to write it in his report. They were asked not to lite the fire and were not compliant and proceeded to get themselves into more trouble. It takes a lot to get Elior to scream or to use force. #6 the police do detain minors but not the same way they detain adults. Bon fires should be banned except in approved places. The catastrophic fires in Yerushalayim were caused by lag baomer “madura”. When told by an officer not to do something listen.
This officer deserves a medal for the restraint he displayed against these hoolagins.Too many Israelis have no respect for the law. If a police officer says something, do what he says. If you dont like it, take his details and complain to the division head. But dont swarm around him,screaming and grabbing him.This video demonstrates what what Israeli law enforcement is up against.