(VIDEOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)

News commentators address the daily events in Israel, with some drawing comparison between the daily protests from the Peleg faction of the litvish chareidi community and members of the disabled community, with the latter demanding increased monthly government assistance.

Some of the criticism against the Peleg is that while both communities close down streets during their protests; the disabled by and large do not strike or throw items at police, and rarely do they even attack them verbally. There are those speaking in defense of the Peleg, insisting the gloved-hand response to disabled protesters shutting down roads clearly shows police are issued different orders when it comes to the chareidi protesters; adding clearly if the protester is not chareidi or a settler, police are ordered to exhibit an extra measure of tolerance.

Media reports on Wednesday 28 Tishrei record some chareidi protesters on Tuesday night called police “Nazis” and “(Expletive removed) Germans”, labels that strike a painful cord among many Israelis.

That said, others point out that police are far less tolerant with the chareidim when they block the road, citing on Tuesday night forty chareidi protesters were arrested while no disable protesters were arrested during their recent weeks of protest despite police announcing they would no longer tolerate disabled protesters blocking streets. In one case, a protester was given a 500 shekel fine.

(All told, 57 chareidim were arrested on Tuesday night including 40 in Bnei Brak and the remainder in Jerusalem).

Yet others point out the chareidim by their own admission explain they do not recognize the law compelling them to register for the draft, and many policemen view the community as heading to anarchy while this is not the case with the disabled. Commentators point out many do not understand the Peleg protests at all, for Israelis know bnei torah can sign a form and then sit and study while receiving a government stipend, questioning why are they protesting signing a simple form or the subsequent arrest for failing to comply with this simple requirement. Many non-Peleg chareidim fear the ongoing protests has led to increased disdain and hate for the Frum community in Eretz Yisrael while the secular Israelis view them and their actions as the height of chutzpah – receiving a stipend to sit and learn, not serving in the army, and then during vacation, throwing rocks at police and calling them Nazis. The disabled on the other hand are fighting for minimal conditions to permit them to live in dignity.

It is also pointed out that police assigned to the disable protests are not issued body armor while many responding to the chareidi protests are, signaling police expect a different reality at the latter.

In the accompanying video, we see the area around the Jerusalem Cord’s Bridge is shut down on Tuesday evening during rush hour, bringing traffic in the Binyanei Ha’uma area to a standstill, backing up to the entrance to the city from Highway 1. At the very same time, chareidim affiliated with the Peleg faction shut down the area of Shivtei Yisrael and Yaffa Streets as well as the latter protesting in Bnei Brak too.

Chareidi news analysts add they cannot believe that HaGaon HaRav Shmuel Auerbach Shlita is aware of what is actually taking place in the streets, referring to the violence and shouts of “Nazis” against police, explaining the Gadol Hador would never tolerate such behavior under any conditions.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)