Police Pressure Haredim to Stop Cooperating, Despite Recent Pledge to Ease Tensions
Only two days ago, the Israel Police made an effort to calm tensions with the Haredi public. After the anger over the arrests of yeshiva students and the call to stop cooperating with the police, the police commissioner convened a special situation assessment and sent a clear message: the ties with the Haredi public should be strengthened, dialogue should be expanded, and the issue of detaining Haredim who come to police stations to file a complaint or give testimony should be examined.
The logic was simple. Police understood that if a Haredi man feared that every visit to a police station could end in arrest and transfer to the military police, he would prefer to stay silent, not complain, not report and not testify. That would hurt both trust and enforcement capacity. But reality, it seems, is stronger than statements. The Belz Hasidic yeshiva student who was handed over today to the military police was not arrested during a targeted operation, at a checkpoint or during an enforcement action. According to his family, he came after asking to receive police service as a victim of a crime. The officers asked him to identify himself, checked his details, and after the review he was transferred to the military police. “I spoke with the family,” said attorney Shlomo Hadad, who represents them. “The young man came to file a complaint as a victim of a crime, and still they handed him over. They blatantly violated the police commissioner’s directive not to hand over victims at police stations.”
Even if the police try to explain that, legally, there was no blanket order not to transfer draft evaders to the military police, it is hard to ignore the message that emerges from the incident. If a person who comes to a station to receive police services finds himself being handed over to a military police vehicle, what message does that send to the public as a whole?
For years, the police invested enormous effort in building trust with the Haredi public. Commanders, rabbis and intermediaries worked to persuade the public to report offenses, file complaints and cooperate with law enforcement. It is a long, complex and delicate process, built brick by brick. Now it seems that the police leadership does not understand how quickly what was built over years can be destroyed.
The question is what will happen the next time a Haredi citizen witnesses violence, is the victim of fraud, or is the victim of a crime. Will he go to a police station? Will he agree to testify? Will he believe the promises heard at press conferences and in official statements?
This incident puts to the test the statements heard just this week from the top of the police. If the commissioner truly intends to restore relations with the Haredi public, it is not enough to set up teams and hold meetings with rabbis. The public judges the police by actions, not by statements. And when the gap between declaration and reality becomes so wide, the damage to public trust may be far deeper than any protest or demonstration.
