Cop hurls bucket at boy, TV crew attacked by Haredi rioters amid virus crackdown

Clashes were reported Sunday as police stepped up enforcement against widespread flouting of coronavirus rules in the ultra-Orthodox community, following numerous reports over the weekend of illegal prayer gatherings in synagogues and institutions despite a national lockdown restricting such activities.

Some spiritual leaders, concerned that adhering to the nationwide lockdown would cause many to halt their Torah studies, have ordered synagogues and yeshivas to stay open and to shun those who report the violations to authorities, according to Channel 13 news.

In the settlement of Beitar Illit, officers working to disperse illegal gatherings clashed with members of the local community and arrested several of them.

A video emerged showing a police officer hurling a bucket at a young boy before arresting him.

Police later said they had asked the Justice Ministry’s Police Internal Investigations Department to look into the incident.

למה? למה ככה שוטרים מתנהגים לתושבי ביתר עלית? למה?? pic.twitter.com/tFdZde7Idq

— יאיר לוי (@Yair__Levy) October 4, 2020

The Israel Police said that several ultra-Orthodox men in Beitar Illit refused to disperse after cops came to deal with an illegal gathering in a synagogue.

Two were arrested after hurling stones at a police vehicle and causing damage, the statement said. Fines were also handed to those in charge of the synagogue and several others.

“During the dispersal of dozens gathered in Beitar Illit…  rocks and objects were thrown at forces. A suspect who was seen throwing a [concrete] block at a police car was arrested by officers.”

There was no indication in the statement whether one of those arrested was the boy who was detained after a bucket was thrown at him by an officer. Footage from Beitar Illit showed a cop throwing the bucket at a boy, reportedly just 10 years old, before several officers seized him and put him in a police vehicle.

It wasn’t immediately clear what preceded the incident, which prompted social media condemnation of police.

זה ילד, משטרת ישראל מאבדת את זה לגמרי pic.twitter.com/NbBhl1u3hx

— חיים גולדברג (@haim_goldberg) October 4, 2020

Regarding the clash between the officer and the boy, police said in the statement: “We view with gravity the behavior of the officer at the site, which contradicts the values of the organization.”

“In accordance, the district commander order that the documentary material be quickly transferred to the PIID.”

Elsewhere, an ultra-Orthodox man who was filming the police was arrested, according to footage shared on Twitter.

צילמת – נעצרת. מטורף.
הוא לא תוקף שוטרים. כלום. בסך הכל עומד (עם מסכה) ומצלם. ואז נעצר. pic.twitter.com/gJJxPVJRpM

— בני רבינוביץ (@benirabin) October 4, 2020

In the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, police raided 11 synagogues Sunday that were operating against the rules, the Ynet news site reported.

Criticism of the ultra-Orthodox community has been growing in recent days, with reports showing a significant number are disregarding lockdown restrictions during the Sukkot holiday, including by continuing to host mass gatherings.

As police have stepped up enforcement there has been increasing anger in the ultra-Orthodox community, also known as Haredi.

Channel 13 reported that one of its film crews was assaulted by a mob of ultra-Orthodox men near the Mea Shearim neighborhood in Jerusalem. The two reporters were forced to escape on foot as the crowd smashed the windows of their car.

On Saturday there were similar fines and pushback from the ultra-Orthodox community in both the capital Jerusalem and the central city of Bnei Brak.

In Jerusalem, police met resistance from ultra-Orthodox locals while trying to enforce lockdown measures, with a video showing residents pelting a cruiser as it drove through Mea Shearim.

Police also raided a synagogue in Bnei Brak belonging to the Ponevezh Yeshiva, where at least two dozen people were praying inside against special pandemic regulations. The yeshiva is on a break but the synagogue was being used by a hardline religious group known as the Jerusalem Faction, according to reports.

One person, described as an administrator, was fined NIS 5,000, and an unspecified number of people gathered there were also hit with fines, the Hebrew-language reports said.

The ultra-Orthodox community has seen sky-high coronavirus infection rates with an assessment last week finding the rate of infection in the community is 2.5 times that of the national average.

Ministers have approved fines of NIS 500 ($145) for anyone caught with other people not from their household in another person’s sukkah, a temporary structure used by many Jews during the holiday of Sukkot. Israelis are also forbidden from hosting non-nuclear family members in their homes during the holiday, and from traveling more than a kilometer from their homes.

No more than 20 people are allowed in outdoor prayer groups, while indoor services are banned. Worshipers must wear masks and observe social distancing.

Police have faced additional challenges to the lockdown from anti-government protesters who have continued their rallies during the lockdown.

Statements from police on Saturday night had focused on the protests held around the country, including in Tel Aviv, where dozens were arrested and hundreds reported fined for what officers alleged was disturbing the peace, attacking police and not following virus rules.

Police were criticized over the weekend for what appeared to be lax enforcement of the same rules in ultra-Orthodox areas. However, some in the government, which is backed by the country’s two most powerful ultra-Orthodox political parties, have criticized the police for disproportionate enforcement of ultra-Orthodox while allowing anti-government protests.