Singer Ben Braunli Arrested and Banned from Beersheba After Train Station Incident

Ben Braunli, a 48-year-old singer from Dimona, has been performing at Beersheba's central train station for nearly a decade, entertaining commuters and passersby. However, last week he was violently arrested and subsequently banned from the city for 15 days. The police claimed Braunli disrupted the work of train security guards and verbally abused an officer, while Braunli disputes this version, stating the officer tried to seize his phone without explanation during his performance.

Braunli holds a court ruling from 2017 that effectively permits him to perform outside the train station. The ruling criticized the municipality for issuing daily fines of 700 shekels for his street singing and called for clear regulations to allow public musical performances. On the day of the arrest, Braunli attempted to show the officer the court document but was handcuffed and detained for six hours. His professional sound equipment and playlist storage were confiscated, and his brother signed for his release on bail, which included the city ban.

Following the incident, Braunli filed a complaint with the Police Investigations Department. The arrest video sparked public outrage on social media, with many criticizing the police for targeting a harmless street performer instead of focusing on more serious security threats. Residents praised Braunli for bringing joy amid difficult times and called on authorities, including Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, to reconsider their approach.

The Israel Police responded that officers arrived after reports of a man disturbing train security and public order near Beersheba's central station. They stated Braunli verbally abused the officer, resisted arrest, and was detained and released under restrictive conditions, including removal from the city.