Kikar HaShabbat commentator Yishai Cohen launched a fierce attack Wednesday on police conduct during the extremist protest on Route 4, where officers were filmed using severe force against demonstrators blocking the road. On the podcast The Arena with Avi Widerman, Cohen said the images were “shocking” and described a clip in which a policeman moved a protester to the roadside and then kicked him in the face as “criminal violence.” He argued that an officer who uses his authority against an unarmed civilian “has no place in the Israel Police.”
Cohen also took aim at what he called selective enforcement over road blockages. He said he opposes blocking roads by Haredim, anti-judicial overhaul protesters, or anti-government demonstrators, but claimed that after former deputy police commissioner Ami Ashad normalized road blockages, “now it is allowed for everyone.” He linked the issue to the current protests, saying some demonstrators see the arrest of Torah students as the worst and most dangerous thing in Israel.
He accused politicians of hypocrisy, saying it is unacceptable that opposition figures attack Shas chairman Aryeh Deri and United Torah Judaism chairman Moshe Gafni for condemning the violence. Cohen also cited MK Naama Lazimi, saying he remembers her setting fire on a road and asked whether critics would condemn that as well. He said Haredi politicians spoke out against the violence even though the protesters are people who oppose Deri and Gafni and, in their view, consider those politicians worse than Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
After the incident, police said they viewed the behavior of rioters very seriously. Tel Aviv District Commander Maj. Gen. Chaim Sargaroff ordered the immediate suspension of the officer filmed kicking the Haredi protester. Police also acknowledged that some officers acted outside procedure. The issue is not new, as the Police Internal Investigations Department recently closed a case against officer Lana Khalil over a similar incident, and Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court later convicted her of assault in a plea bargain.
