Haredi man injured after cawling under car at traffic light and then being dragged dozens of feet. Haredim stopped ambulance carrying the man to Hadassah Hospital because haredim think Hadassah is Nazi-like.
Yair Aplert of the haredi website Matzav.com reports:
…According to two reports, a protester was moderately injured after lying down by the wheels of a car that had been stopped at a traffic light. According to the reports, when a Magen David Adom ambulance arrived to take away the injured man, protesters briefly tried to prevent the vehicle from leaving, after learning that the man was being taken to Hadassah Hospital, police said.
The hospital is viewed with contempt by many in the chareidi community after a woman from Meah Shearim whose son was being treated there was accused last month by hospital staff of starving him. Many believe the hospital is covering up for a misdiagnosis.
Protestors claim that police actually instructed the driver of the car to run over the man.…
Haredim covered Jerusalem last month with posters accusing Hadassah doctors of behaving like the infamous Dr. Mengele of Auschwitz and compared Hadassah to the notorious Nazi death camp. That virulent propaganda caused haredim to block the ambulance and delay treatment of the injured haredi.
Here is Ha'aretz's report on the violence:
Six police officers hurt as Haredi riots renew in Jerusalem
By Jonathan Lis and Yair Ettinger • Ha'aretz
Jerusalem police on Saturday arrested 16 ultra-Orthodox demonstrators who took part in violent clashes with security forces to protest the municipality's decision to open a parking garage on the Sabbath. Six police officers and passerby were injured during the incidents. Three of the officers required medical attention.
A protester who had joined a group of ultra-Orthodox men who blocked a road near the garage suffered moderate injuries after he was struck by a car that dragged him for several dozen meters.
Following the incident, the radical Orthodox sect that has spearheaded the demonstrations is threatening to escalate the protests.
Another victim of the unrest was a woman who was hit by shattered glass after stones were thrown at the car in which she was traveling along Bar-Ilan Street, one of the city's main thoroughfares. She was sitting in the passenger's seat and was lightly hurt.
For the first time since the municipality opened the Karta parking garage, members of the Eda Haredit sect extended the protests over the course of two days.
Authorities say an estimated 1,500 protesters took part in the violent protests. Immediately following Friday prayers, hundreds of protesters flocked to the area and tried to block cars from entering the garage. As a group of protesters blocked the way, one car began speeding off in an effort to avoid the mob and in the process struck a young man in his 20s.
Demonstrators said the driver that struck the young ultra-Orthodox man, Kafil Schwartz, acted deliberately. A rumor circulated among the protesters that a police officer who was present during the incidents instructed the driver to accelerate as his car was surrounded by a large crowd of protesters.
Dozens of demonstrators began chasing after the car involved, but the driver managed to flee the scene, and the police continue searching for him.
A Magen David Adom emergency medical crew was summoned to the scene and gave first-aid to the injured ultra-Orthodox man. After the medics managed to stabilize him, he was put in an ambulance to be taken to a nearby hospital. Some of the demonstrators began to shout calls demanding he not be taken to Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Kerem. Some ultra-Orthodox are boycotting the hospital over its involvement in the case of the Haredi mother who is accused of starving her 8-year-old son.
The clashes resumed in the morning hours Saturday, as protesters hurled rocks at passing vehicles driving along Bar-Ilan Street. It was during these incidents that a woman passenger in one of the cars was injured by pieces of shattered glass from a rock that was thrown.
Later in the day, crowds of ultra-Orthodox led a protest march toward the area in which the garage is located. After clashing with the police, some of the protesters tried to block nearby roads, but were prevented from doing so by security forces.
Police on Sunday will ask the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court to extend the remand of those arrested.
Here's Ynet's report, including details of how the haredi was injured:
J'lem: Haredi injured in parking lot protest
After mass prayer at controversial parking lot, ultra-Orthodox demonstrators throw themselves on road in attempt to block traffic in protest of Shabbat desecration. One man lies down under car stopped at traffic light, is dragged several meters when car begins to move, evacuated to hospital in moderate condition
Efrat Weiss • YnetA 20-year-old ultra-Orthodox man demonstrating against the opening of the Karta parking lot in Jerusalem on Shabbat was moderately injured on Friday after lying under the wheels of a car in protest of the desecration of Shabbat.
The car was stopped at a traffic light, and when the driver began to move, the haredi man was dragged several meters. He was evacuated to hospital, and the driver fled the scene.
The incident occurred shortly after the conclusion of Shabbat prayers. Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox held a mass prayer near the entrance to the controversial parking lot, as part of their ongoing protest against its opening on Shabbat.
At the end of the prayer, several of the protesters began to riot, and some of them threw themselves on the road of Hativat Yerushalayim Street in an attempt to prevent cars from driving.
The 20-year-old decided to lie under a car stopped at a traffic light nearby. When the light turned green, the car began to move, dragging the man behind it. The vehicle stopped several meters later, and after the man managed to free himself from its grip, the driver fled the scene.
A Magen David Adom crew called to the scene treated the man, and evacuated him to hospital in moderate condition.
Police launched an investigation into the incident, but it remained unclear whether the driver was aware that there was someone lying under the vehicle and drove off intentionally, or innocently did not notice.
Police barriers were stationed around the area in hopes of tracking the vehicle down. The rest of the protesters in the area were escorted back to the Mea Shearim neighborhood in the city.
On Friday, police prepared for Saturday's weekly protest at the parking lot.
Commissioner Dudi Cohen said part of the officers that were stationed at the Temple Mount for the Muslim Friday prayers will also be deployed around the Karta parking long and haredi neighborhoods on Saturday.
"The Jerusalem Police have been dealing with the haredi protests for 10 weeks now. The Jerusalem Police have managed to handle the protests nicely while maintaining restraint and sensitivity in dealing with the haredi community," Cohen said.
[Hat tip: Seymour.]