From the Liveblog of
Thursday, March 19, 2026
Report: Uzbek worker arrested after appearing to liken people running for shelter from missiles to rats
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Police arrested an Uzbek construction worker the day the Iran war broke out, after he filmed a video during a siren in which he appeared to liken those taking shelter to rats, according to a recent Haaretz report.
In the video uploaded to TikTok, the foreign worker reportedly asks his viewers in Tajik if they hear the sirens in the background. He then says, “Everyone is running away, like rats, everyone is running away, there is nobody outside.”
Avi Chen, an Israeli citizen of Bukharian origin, saw the video and filed a complaint with the police over the man’s comments. Footage of the arrest shows that Chen accompanied police during the worker’s arrest, translating between an officer and the detainee as the former is heard shouting at the latter.
“This is the fate of everyone who incites against us,” Chen is seen saying to the camera before the cop pats down the cuffed detainee.
Haaretz reports that police arrested him on suspicion of disturbing public order, rather than incitement. Unlike the former, incitement suspicions necessitate approval from the State Attorney’s Office to investigate.
After the man was arrested, Chen posted to Facebook saying he met with officials in Uzbekistan’s embassy, claiming they were involved in reprimanding the construction worker before police had gotten involved. He further alleged that the man would soon be deported from Israel.
But Haaretz reports, after reaching out to the Uzbek embassy, that the worker has since been released from custody and remains in the country.
The embassy further called his detention unlawful.
Soon after the war broke out, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who oversees police, began urging law enforcement to crack down on supposed incitement in both Israel proper and the West Bank. According to the National Security Ministry, Prison Service chief Kobi Yaakobi issued a directive to redefine any inmate who “expresses support for Iran” as a security prisoner.
The Times of Israel Community.