300 Haredim Attack Cops In Second Day Of Riots

Approximately 300 ultra-Orthodox Jews began chasing police officers, hurled rocks at them, and burned trashcans after police were called to remove a sign on a main street that orders the separation of men and women in the neighborhood. The sign has been removed and re-instated several times over the past two days. And for the second straight day, haredim also attacked a television news crew.

Above: The sign in Beit Shemesh removed by police.

Ultra-Orthodox, Israel Police clash in Beit Shemesh; officer wounded
Police arrest two after residents chase officers, hurl rocks, and burn trashcans to protest the removal of a sign that calls for the separation of men and women on a main street.
By Ophir Bar-Zohar and Oz Rosenberg • Ha'aretz

A police officer was wounded as clashes erupted between ultra-Orthodox Jews and Israel police on Monday in two separate neighborhoods in Beit Shemesh. Two residents were also arrested in the clashes.

Approximately 300 ultra-Orthodox Jews began chasing police officers, hurled rocks at them, and burned trashcans after police were called to remove a sign on a main street that orders the separation of men and women in the neighborhood. The sign has been removed and re-instated several times over the past two days.

Confrontations also occurred in another of the city’s neighborhood after a Channel 10 news crew attempted to film a news piece in the neighborhood. The crew was surrounded by ultra-Orthodox residents who began harassing the crew, who immediately called for police reinforcement.

Officers arrived on the scene, and clashed with residents who laid on the ground in order to protect those which the police sought to apprehend for questioning.

On Sunday, a Channel 2 news team was attacked and beaten by 200 ultra-Orthodox men at the same location on the street where the sign that was removed had been hanging.

After the assault on the Channel 2 news team earlier Sunday, one resident living nearby said that the sign in question has existed for six years already. He added that it does not order women not pass in the street, but to abstain from gathering on the sidewalk.

Ynet reports that a photojournalist was also attacked and that the police arrested three, not two, haredim.

It also has a video taken moments before the rioting started. I tried to embed it here but it doesn't work properly because Ynet's embed code is damaged. But you can watch it there.

Comments

[phillip]

Put an end to this revolt.... shot them down
as one would with a rabid dog.
This will put an end to the dangerous animals
once and for all.

The Mullahs in Iran must be laughing their asses
off watching Israel destroy herself.

[Rebitzman]

@phillip

So, tearing down signs is a capital offense?

How about instead the police go in in strength, arrest anyone who resists, and pull government benefits for a set period from anyone convicted?

[Yochanan Lavie]

The police have to crack down. Chareidi areas are becoming like Muslim banlieues in France; no-go areas where the law isn't enforced. Such areas are breeding grounds for extremism. If the chareidim don't like living under the rule of law, let them try their shtick in the diaspora. Bet they don't have the balls to do that there. Chareidim are afraid of gentiles, but have no compunction about assaulting fellow Jews.

[jancsipista]

theese fanatics are trying to make everyones life miserable just like theirs is, they closed themselfs of from the rest of siciety now they cant tolerate others this is the outcome of their toreh learni falling deeper and deeper into madness they must be stoped and this is the time no more waiting go in there and make their life even more miserable so they wont have energy to riot .

[WoolSilkCotton]

As long as the politicians are afraid of them, there will be no end to this.

[SKepticalYid]

It's not just Charedi areas anymore. They continue to move into Daati and Hiloni neighborhoods. Then they use violence to impose their extremist practices on those who already resided in those municipalities. It's time to cut all government funding for their yeshivas, kollels, rabbinate ; as well as housing subsidies. If they have to work for a living, they won't have time for this. Israel won't stand long if it continues to devolve into a theocracy.

[Waiting4Moshiach]

Nebech, these Yungermen cannot find wives or jobs and they have too much nervous energy to learn. If they had wives and kids and were learning all day they would have no time for this.

[Yochanan Lavie]

W4M: the same problem exists within the Muslim world. Young Muslim males have no job prospects, and can't afford a dowry to get married, so are turning to extremism.

[WoolSilkCotton]

++Rebitzman | December 26, 2011 at 10:43 AM++

You are right. Unfortunately, politicians are to feckless to stand behind the police and to enforce other sanctions such as loss of welfare benefits.
As a result, I fear that only a calamity will shake up the fanatics and cause them to stop. A cop or civilian pushed too far will take out a gun and start shooting, and that will be the event that sends the fanatics the message.

[Mendy Hecht]

That's great, geniuses--keep attacking the people who keep you and your family safe at night, and keep Shmarya and his ilk busy.

Bunch of idiots.

[ah-pee-chorus]

and burn trashcans

BARUCH HASHEM!! i'm machmir on this issue and hold that they wouldnt be mekayem the mitzva of 'riot' without a few burning trash containers. others say its not necessary and is just hiddur-mitzva. i want to stone and spit on those who disagree with me.....and light some garbage on fire.

[Office of the Chief Rabbi]

I really liked the counterpoint of the advertisement for blondiniyot on the YNET site.

[KJ]

I don't know why they are busy with the sign. This is a change in tactic from posting flyers on walls. In fact it appears haredim expect this sort of directive to be announced via posted messages.

[WoolSilkCotton]

http://news.yahoo.com/jewish-gender-segregation-campaign-turns-violent-135056846.html

[WoolSilkCotton]

Waiting4Moshiach and Mendy Hecht, I am agreeing with you!

If these rioting idiots really sat all day and studied the Torah, and applied its teachings to develop eidelkeit and good midos, there would be no problems, and nonreligious Jews wouldn't mind supporting such genuine Torah study, which would 'trickle down' to the rest of society and we would all be kinder and gentler and a 'light unto the nations'.

Instead, they use the Torah as a 'spade with which to dig' for power and greed. Such behavior is doomed.

[Alter Kocker]

Waiting4Moshiach:
If the yungerman have too much nervous energy let them spend their welfare money on more prostitutes than they normally do.

To the police. Protect yourselves from these vile individuals. A few busted heads and legs and these animals will run. Fire hoses and rubber bullets inflict pain and not mete out death. Let the terrorists be put down.

[jancsipista]

Theese are mindless hassidim who loath themselfs we should not expect them to respect others .since the got no respect boming around all day having no aim in life they are desterate i think they are crying out loud to us all to end their self imposed missery.

[Korbendallas72]

That's great, geniuses--keep attacking the people who keep you and your family safe at night...

Posted by: Mendy Hecht | December 26, 2011 at 11:51 AM

All this time, I thought that was Hashem. The things I learn from Chabad...

[Alan from Mérida]

When it came to tearing the Israeli families from Gaza, the Israeli State was unyielding, sadly. When it comes with dealing with violent trash, be they "haredi" or criminal elements among the Moslem Arabs, the State has no resolve. Where was the backup for the police? Why are these spitters on children, aggressors against the police, not rotting now in prison along with the Arab terrorist prisoners?

[Rebitzman]

All this time, I thought that was Hashem. The things I learn from Chabad...

A Chabadnik disagrees with you, you mock him. One agrees with you - you mock him?

What am I missing?

[maven]

Alan, and all the others asking the same question: The answer is, they vote. Bibi needs them and would rather lose the state than lose an election.

[Jeff]

As long as the politicians are afraid of them, there will be no end to this.

Posted by: WoolSilkCotton | December 26, 2011 at 11:08 AM

Precisely - and as long as there is an endless supply of them, the politicians will continue to be afraid.

[Jeff]

That's great, geniuses--keep attacking the people who keep you and your family safe at night, and keep Shmarya and his ilk busy.

Posted by: Mendy Hecht | December 26, 2011 at 11:51 AM

Unbelievable. You can't stand having to agree with him, can you? You have to get in dig.

You are what my father would call "a piece of work".

Meanwhile, why don't you pray to your dead rebbe to stop the violence? I hear he can do anything.

[Litvish]

Maven, Jeff and others

Absolutely right. The medinah is a political machine and these creatures supply votes that the coalition builders need to thrive.

That and the fact that politics in Israel is about as corrupt as it comes in the West ( witness the hypocritical charade about following the lead of over 15 other lands of commemorating the Armenian genocide).

Sadly, I only expect that things will get worse, not better.

These scum are only good at making babies, mooching off the rest of us, and spitting in our faces.

Wake me up when things change.

[Jewish Cynic]

Maven hit the nail on the head.

The haredis growing population and political cohesion twisting Israel's miserable parliamentary system is a strong force to counter.

The only force that has a chance against those votes is money.

I think the only way for those outside Israel to help is to cut off funding.
If Israeli emissaries (incl UJA, AIPAC etc)hear enough people tell them "I'm sorry I cannot give this year, or next until Israel stops funding haredi hooliganism" then perhaps alarm bells might ring in the cabinet room and give Israeli leaders some spine to do what's needed.

My father used to subscribe to the old maxim "never turn down a fellow Jew". Whoever the schnorer was, my father gave something.
But a few years ago he realized how dysfunctional the haredi/hassidic communities had become and giving money was only enabling their corrupt behavior.
Same thing happening in Israel.

[Litvish]

For those unfamiliar with the Armenian reference:

More than 15 countries have officially labeled as genocide the slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians in the chaos surrounding World War I and the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire. Its denial is a crime in Switzerland and Slovenia. France is now making it a crime, too.

Two thirds of all Armenians were murdered. Their crime was that they were Armenians.

To this day, Israel has refused to allow public access to these knesset debates for fear of offending Turkey where denial of the Armenian genocide is a crime.

The major political hypocrisy today is that even after Turkey has withdrawn its ambassador from Israel, sent money and aid to the Palestinians and done its best to trash Israel, many Israeli politicians openly say that they don't want to anger the Turks.

Fact: One country saved not only all of its Jews from the Nazis but all those ( over 200) who managed to reach its borders. Albania, a Muslim state did this.

They have sent an ambassador to Tel Aviv and love Israel. They are the only Muslim state in the world to support Israel at the UN.

Their reward?

Israel closed its Albanian embassy. The reason? Albania is an unimportant country that has nothing to offer Israel and the few thousand dollars a year to keep the place open is " a waste of our resources".

And you wonder why they hate us?

These are two examples of the hypocrisy of Israeli politics.

The haredi know these things and will exploit the politicians all they can.

[Naftalie]

Please be aware that it is not true that the misbehaving haredim are only a small group. Because, where are the other haredim? I mean, if you are a haredi and live in this neighbourhood and don't agree to this type of behaviour then it is your obligation to get out there and protect innocent people from attacks of your extreme brothers. If you don't do that you are collaborating and in this way agreeing to what happens. So this is definitely not a small group but almost all the haredim of Beith Shemesh who are either actively or passively participating in this unacceptable violence.

[aaron]

send the army instead of cops and drop them in the desert . the ultra oetho do not deserve to live in society and certainly not in the city .

[adams]

So the reason is votes? interesting but Bibi has to do the right thing for once. so he will lose the next election. not sure, if he does the right thing here he will gain votes from the normal public.

Some of the Shabbis demonstations got really ugly and the police hit them badly, then these brave hasidims run to the media to cry about police brutality.

but now there is probablty more public interest so it will be harder for the police to crack open their skulls like they were doing in the demonstrations a few years back.

[KJ]

I was checking this post when I noticed a link claiming that I may also "like this story". It was a story about Frank and his being canned by Montefiore Medical Center. While I fail to see the connection and don't know why this software thinks that I would "like" this story. It did perk my interest as to just what is up with Frank?

http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2009/12/kosher-cop-canned-by-hospital-123.html

[dlz]

maven:
Actually, the people rioting in Bet Shemesh do not vote, as they refuse to grant any recognition to the state.