State files indictment against social protest leader

An indictment was filed Sunday against social protest leader Daphni Leef, following her arrest at a rally in Tel Aviv last June. Leef has been charged with assaulting a police officer, disrupting the peace and resisting arrest.

The indictment, filed with the Tel Aviv Magistrates’ Court, states that Leef, along with other protesters, attacked policemen who arrived on the scene to break up an unauthorized protest. The demonstration, held on the city’s famous Rothschild Boulevard, was billed as an attempt to revive the social protest movement of Summer 2011.

According to the indictment, the protesters also hurled garbage and glass bottles at police.

Leef, speaking after her release from custody, accused the police of using violence against the protesters at the demonstration.

The June protest was followed by a march in Tel Aviv the next night. Tensions at the march were high, with demonstrators breaking bank windows and again clashing with police, who made dozens of arrests.