Op-Ed: When Buses Burn In Bnei Brak, Police Cars Are Burning In Arab Villages

BNEI  BRAK (VINnews) — Bnei Brak has never been a focal point for police activity in the past. Despite being one of the most crowded and densely populated towns in Israel, with over 200,000 people crammed into a narrow sector between Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Petach Tikva, the chareidi city has rarely had to deal with anything worse than break-ins and minor thefts.

The advent of coronavirus and Bnei Brak’s high infection rate has transformed the city’s low profile immeasurably. In recent weeks, some 25% of COVID-19 tests came out positive in Bnei Brak as opposed to a national average of 7%. Similar high numbers emerged in Emanuel, Beit Shemesh, Beitar Illit and Modi’in Illit. The government has realized that something needs to be done quickly in order to curb the swift spread of the virus in chareidi communities.

The new police chief Kobi Shabtai, who had previously headed the formidable Border Police which deals daily with terrorism, searched for an excuse to lead the charge. The excuse came after some irresponsible youths in Bnei Brak lightly injured a police officer who had come to close their yeshiva.

Police descended on Bnei Brak last Thursday as if it was a terrorist hideout, clothed in full protective gear and wielding menacing batons. It was a chilling sight and many innocent young children were traumatized by the ensuing events which included stun grenades, violent scuffles with police and noise throughout the night. However for local youths who had been shut in for weeks in tiny apartments, it was a welcome respite to be able to get out on the streets and demonstrate their anger at the intrusion. Many non-orthodox or formerly orthodox youths joined the melee, venting their frustration at the prolonged closure which has so far totally failed to reduce infections.

The tough measures exercised by police only strengthened the resolve of the vocal minority who insist on keeping institutions open to continue their policies and this inevitably led to additional clashes with police in Ashdod, Bnei Brak and Jerusalem. On Sunday some of the local youths even burnt garbage cans, threw an Arab driver off a bus and set the bus on fire. The fire department, warned by police that they might be subject to violence, refused to arrive immediately and the bus burned down as horrified neighbors ran away from the dangerous conflagaration. Police apprehended the perpetrator Wednesday, but he does not in any way fit the chareidi profile which has been so villified in the national media after the bus burning incident.

המשטרה עצרה את החשוד בשריפת האוטובוס אמש בבני ברק. pic.twitter.com/KsRarBD6is

— אריאל אלחרר (@ariel_elharar_) January 25, 2021

Police arrest suspect in bus burning

There is obviously no justification for such vandalism, but a wise person shouldn’t get into a situation which a fool can’t get out of. The police, instead of  achieving their goal of reducing violations have simply exacerbated tensions, alienated large communities and have not succeeded in closing down any schools, which reopen immediately after they leave the premises. A more intelligent approach would have involved negotiations with heads of communities in order to find a framework (e.g. outdoors or in small capsules) which could enable limited studies to continue in a safe environment.

שריפת ניידת בשכונת עיסוויה הערב, עשו על זה רעש כמו ששרפו את האוטובוס בבני ברק?
לא חרדים לא שומעים. pic.twitter.com/GoFhfjfuvk

— אריאל אלחרר (@ariel_elharar_) January 26, 2021

At the same time, the news outlets which covered chareidi demonstrations incessantly ignore more egregious violations of the law in the Arab sector. Arabs set fire to a police car in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya but this somehow escaped the news. A similar burning of a police van occurred in Tuba Zangria in the north after the head of a protection gang was arrested and his cronies decided to take revenge. This however is not news, as the Arab sector is rife with violence and such events are only too common. Coronavirus is also common in the Arab sector but somehow it falls under the radar too often as it is far easier to scapegoat a community that everybody loves to hate.