Shas chairman Rabbi Aryeh Deri on Wednesday called on National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to “wake up” and immediately stop what he described as police violence against Torah students in Bnei Brak. Deri said the police were acting with discriminatory enforcement, arguing that they had not behaved the same way during the Kaplan protests.
“There is no way that what the police did not do in Kaplan against anarchists who sought to destroy the state, they are now doing against citizens who are crying out that they have been turned into criminals just because they study Torah,” Deri said. He added that although Shas opposes demonstrations, the party “cannot stand by in the face of this injustice and the severe violence.”
Deri addressed Ben Gvir directly, saying, “You have proven that when it matters to you, you know how to use the police. Get up now and stop the police violence against the Torah students.” His remarks came in response to violent police incidents in Bnei Brak.
The article also noted major traffic disruptions in central Israel, with Route 4 closed in both directions between the Ife Etzion interchange and the Aluf Sade interchange, and the public asked to avoid the area and follow traffic updates. A long list of other roads in the center, north, and south were reported congested or blocked.
