Police Rabbi Says Protest Rights Must Be Protected Within the Law

Israel Police Rabbi, Chief Superintendent Rami Berakha, spoke Wednesday to Kikar HaShabbat from the area of Ofer Prison, known in the report as “Klay 10,” where a car protest was expected to arrive over the arrests of yeshiva students. He said police were monitoring the demonstration and trying to resolve most incidents without escalation. “We are following the protest,” he said, adding that in almost every case officers try to handle events so they do not “enter bad places.”

Berakha was also asked about separate incidents reported in other locations around Israel, including Arad and Beitar Illit. He clarified that those cases were “not necessarily connected to the event itself,” distinguishing them from the main protest near the prison.

He then outlined the police position on demonstrations in general, stressing that the right to protest must be allowed as long as it remains legal. “We think the right to protest is important. It is very important that people feel they can express themselves, protest, within the bounds of the law,” he said.

Berakha said the police’s role is to enable the protest and expressed hope that everything would end without problems. He said he wants everyone who comes to demonstrate to protest and return home “healthy and whole,” adding, “May it be so, amen.”