Police arrest two in Mea She’arim after last week’s riot against draft
“Arresting our people or people who were connected to our battle in the past will not deter us.”
By UDI SHAHAMHaredim take part in a protest in Mea She’arim against the municipality opening a nearby road on Shabbat.(photo credit: REUTERS/BAZ RATNER)
The Israel Police conducted an operation early Wednesday in which it arrested a man who is suspected of involvement in the violent clashes last week in the haredi neighborhood of Mea She’arim in Jerusalem.Police said there was enough evidence to prove his involvement in the riots, but no further details were released.During the arrest operation, several dozen men gathered at the scene and shouted at the police officers.Later on the crowd threw rocks and objects at the policemen, and rolled heavy waste containers at them, trying to block the road and disrupt and operation.The police dispersed the rioters and arrested another man who was taken in for questioning.Merkaz Hatzolah, an NGO that works against haredi men joining the IDF, said that the practice of arresting men who are acting against the military draft is an attempt of the government to exhaust the ultra-Orthodox public and make them join the IDF.“They are trying to impose the draft on our public,” the NGO’s spokesman told The Jerusalem Post. “Arresting our people or people who were connected to our battle in the past will not deter us,” he said. “We are restlessly working and paying a hefty personal price... This shows how desperate the government is in its attempt to exhaust us, and in its antidemocratic measures, that are destined to fail.”Last week, police raided the office of Merkaz Hatzolah.Officers were carrying out a search warrant ordered by the court, police said.After police arrived at the Mea She’arim office, dozens of haredi men gathered outside. The crowd shouted at the officers, and threw objects such as rocks and eggs at them.
The police then issued a statement condemning the actions, which they dubbed as a “disruption of public order in an effort to influence or thwart court orders and police activity.”
