Beit Shemesh Resident Indicted Over Arson During Draft Protest Riots

Israel’s State Attorney’s Office has filed an indictment in Jerusalem District Court against Yosef Friedman, 46, from Beit Shemesh, accusing him of setting fire three times to vegetation near the Beit Shemesh police station during violent unrest tied to a protest over the arrest of a draft dodger. Prosecutors are also asking the court to keep him in custody until the end of the proceedings.

According to the indictment, submitted by attorney Shiral Eldar of the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office, the arrest of an ultra-Orthodox yeshiva student who had evaded conscription prompted calls to gather near the police station. Overnight between May 31 and June 1, hundreds of demonstrators assembled there, and the protest escalated into a violent riot.

During the disorder, the station gate was broken open, police officers were attacked, objects and stones were thrown, property was damaged, and fires were set in the area around the station. The indictment says Friedman ignited vegetation along the station fence in three separate incidents, at different spots and within short intervals. In each case, the flames burned for only a few seconds before going out.

The investigation was handled by the Beit Shemesh police station in the Jerusalem District. Friedman is charged with three counts of arson and one count of rioting.