Palestinian teens order Haredi man to kiss their feet, post on TikTok, are arrested

Judge extends remand of 14- and 16-year-olds charged with assault and issuing threats by an additional four days after incident in Jerusalem’s Old City

An ultra-Orthodox man bends down and kisses the foot of a Palestinian teen in the Old City of Jerusalem; two Palestinian teens were arrested over the incident on December 1, 2022. (Screen capture/Twitter)
An ultra-Orthodox man bends down and kisses the foot of a Palestinian teen in the Old City of Jerusalem; two Palestinian teens were arrested over the incident on December 1, 2022. (Screen capture/Twitter)

Police arrested two Palestinian teenagers who filmed themselves threatening an ultra-Orthodox man in Jerusalem’s Old City and ordering him to bend down on his knees and kiss one of their feet in a video that they later uploaded to TikTok.

The phenomenon of Palestinians filming themselves assaulting or humiliating ultra-Orthodox residents sparked outrage and clashes last year, leading to several arrests. In one particularly viral video, a Palestinian was filmed pouring hot coffee on an Orthodox man, leading to a two-year prison sentence.

The latest clip was captioned with the line “look at how he kisses his shoes” with a laughing emoji.

A police complaint was filed shortly after the video was uploaded and the 14 and 16-year-olds were arrested on Thursday and charged with assault and issuing threats.

A judge on Friday ordered the suspects’ remand extended by four more days.

Police said in a statement that it “will continue to fight the crimes of abuse, violence and humiliation and bring those involved to justice.”

“Documenting illegal acts of this kind and spreading them on social media is even more serious, and the perpetrators knew that filming the act would only help the police gather evidence, locate those involved and quickly arrest them,” police said.

Most Popular
read more: