MK Yisrael Eichler used the Knesset forum on Tuesday 23 Iyar to speak out against police brutality in general, specifically against the chareidi community. Eichler spoke of the unprofessional and violent behavior of police when issuing traffic summonses as well as during protests. One case in point was the recent brutal beating of a chareidi man in Beit Shemesh, which is now under investigation by the Justice Ministry Police Investigations Unit.
Eichler cited police often use unjustified violence against chareidim, pointing out in the above case, the man in Beit Shemesh, he was simply talking on his mobile phone, questioning the justification of the policeman’s actions following the stop as seen in the video, the beating of the man and knocking him to the ground while calling for backup.
He commented on the actions of police at protests and the fact that in a democracy one may express one’s opinion but police often feel this is not the case. He decried the use of brutality in response to civil disobedience, questioning the need of force at protests, which has become the norm for Israel Police.
Eichler warned his colleagues that violence by government officials is far more serious than by a civilian for when the latter becomes violent police move in and arrest him but who will protect citizens from the violence of police?
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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One Response
When many charedim in Israel use violence, throw rocks and burn and overturn garbage bins, etc., they are going to be perceived as being violent. Why don’t their rabbonim insist and take measures that they stop that kind of behavior? It is animalistic and very unbecoming to the status of a Jew. If their rabbonim cannot control them, that proves my point all the more so.
A policeman once came to speak in our neighborhood in Brooklyn and said when he gets a call to come to our neighborhood, he breathes a sigh of relief because he knows that generally, the nature of the call is not violent. My perception of the way many charedim act in Israel is that most likely a policeman going into Meah Shearim and some other charedi neighborhoods would not say that.
I know that it happens here that some policemen are violent without provocation. It has happened to Jews in our neighborhood. But when police perception is that there is going to be trouble, they are going to be quick to react to anything they might then interpret as troublesome.