From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
One of the youths arrested in Bnei Brak riot is grandson of two Hasidic leaders
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
A senior Agudat Yisrael source confirms that a minor arrested on suspicion of overturning a police car during a riot in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak earlier this month is the grandson of two senior Hasidic leaders, both of whom are members of the faction’s ruling Council of Torah Sages.
According to Channel 13 reporter Yoeli Brim, the unnamed 15-year old suspect is the grandson of both Rabbi Eliezer Hager, the Rebbe of Seret-Vizhnitz, and Chaim Shaul Taub, the Rebbe of Modzitz.
“It is true that he was arrested,” the source tells The Times of Israel, adding that “he denied any connection with the matter” and was subsequently ordered released from custody by the court.
The riot, during which a patrol car was overturned and a police motorcycle was set ablaze, saw police rescued two IDF servicewomen from a mob of hundreds of Haredim.
Most of those arrested following the riot were released the next day, although according to the ultra-Orthodox news site Kikar Hashabbat, the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court on Sunday extended the remand of one another suspect in the overturning of the car, who remains in custody.
The involvement of the grandson of two of the Agudat Yisrael party’s spiritual leaders would appear to undercut Haredi politicians’ claims that the rioters were from an extreme minority that does not represent the mainstream ultra-Orthodox community. Critics have linked the violence to increasingly harsh rhetoric by mainstream Haredi leaders, although several prominent rabbis have banned attending demonstrations.
The Times of Israel Community.