Throughout the day and night of Lag BaOmer, thousands of people tried to reach Mount Meron to celebrate the festival near Zion Rashbi, despite a 'military area order' imposed on the area and police checkpoints on the roads.
Many police forces stopped many from the world on their way to Meron, and other police officers confronted those who managed to reach Zion. Hundreds of people were expelled from the mountain and put on police buses. During the evacuation of the worshipers, police used unusual violence, beating the elderly, women, and young people.
Several videos documenting particularly unusual violence caused a public outcry - and many ministers and members of Knesset called for the police officers to be immediately dismissed from the police force.
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Chairman of United Torah Judaism, Minister of Housing Yitzhak Goldknopf "These are images that no human eye can see. Unbridled cruelty, disproportionate violence, someone has lost their head and heart and they have to pay for it.".
Minister of Jerusalem and the tradition of Israel, Meir Porush: ""The shocking sight of a Border Police officer violently knocking an elderly Jew to the ground or another police officer shooting into the air at a civil event is heartbreaking and unacceptable. I demand that the violent police officers be immediately dismissed.".
Chairman of Religious Zionism Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich"This time it's a direct attack on an elderly Haredi couple, and this time it's a violent and aggressive push on an adult who could be this police officer's grandfather. The police violence that happens to always be used against those groups is unacceptable. It's time to eradicate police violence and ensure equal enforcement.".
Chairman of the State Camp, Minister Benny Gantz"The harsh images of urgency and excessive use of force in Meron require condemnation and a thorough examination. Even if the believers who arrived violated the instructions, ignoring the security danger, it is forbidden to resort to actions like those we saw.".
""Israel Police officers have been working 24/7 for a long time to maintain personal and public security during war, and we all support them. But maintaining public order must not turn into violence under the protection of the law.".
Minister of Religious Services Michael Malchieli"An unfathomable sight that there is no way to pass over, justice will be served immediately with the rioters! There is no way to skip this crime.".
Minister of Health Uriel Bosso Spoke with the CEO of Ziv Hospital, where the injured man from police violence in the Zion Rashbi compound was brought. Minister Buso harshly criticized the police's conduct in the incident: "There is no place for violence against the elderly and helpless without any justifiable reason and in what appears to be an outburst of anger and frustration. Severe action must be taken against the violent police officer so that they will be feared and feared.".
Minister Yoav Ben Tzur: "The violence on Mount Meron raises serious questions about the use of illegal and life-threatening force. Alongside the justified criticism of the riots by extremist fringes who illegally entered and desecrated the sanctity of the site, a disturbing picture emerges of some of the police officers who came to vent their anger with boundless hatred against the Haredi public. I call on the Police to locate the police officers who violated the procedures and to bring them to the full severity of the law. The blood of the Haredi is not in vain."
Deputy Minister Uri Maklev: ""This barbaric behavior by the police is unjustified. Not only the beating police officer, but the entire group of police officers should be suspended, as they did not bother to approach and provide assistance and help. Unfortunately, this culture of violence in the police shows a complete failure in their training. The problem lies in the fact that they remain in the police force and cover for each other - even if they should not have been there, there is no justification for behaving in such a violent manner.""
Chairman of the Labor and Welfare Committee, MK Israel Eichler"The harsh images of police violence in Meron prove that there are no normal human rights for ultra-Orthodox Jews. Trampling on the dignity of Haredim satisfies the wildest instincts.".
""The commanders and police officers responsible for crimes against Jews must be suspended immediately. This is not how elderly Jews and pious women who came to pray on the Rashbi's grave, even if illegally, are dealt with. A police officer who brutally pushed an elderly Jew to the floor and injured him until he bled, should not remain in the police force.".
There is no doubt that violent police officers derive their intense hatred for the Haredi from the hostile media. It is no wonder that they act this way, after they watch incitement broadcasts every day and night that slander and spill the blood of the Haredi public.
""The politicians who want coexistence in this country must stop the terrible incitement that could lead to bloodshed, God forbid.".
Deputy Minister of Agriculture MK Moshe Aboutbul In response to the severe attack in Meron: "The elderly man was thrown to the floor with cruelty and brutality without mercy by a Border Police officer. Something that must not be allowed to pass on to the agenda. I call on the police and the MHA to bring the violent police officers to justice and dismiss them today.".
Chairman of the Health Committee MK Yoni Mashriki"There is and will be no justification for risking the life of a helpless elderly man and throwing him to the ground with cruelty and lack of compassion. I call on the Border Police and the Border Guard to investigate the incident and bring those involved to justice to the fullest extent of the law.".
Deputy Speaker of the Knesset MK Erez Malul Addressing Border Police Commander Yitzhak Brik and the Border Police: "The Border Police officer who hit the head of the 80-year-old Jew near Zion in Meron must be suspended immediately. These are difficult scenes that, if they had occurred during the Kaplan demonstrations, the officer would have been fired from the police force that very day. At the same time, on this occasion, it must be said that violence against police officers is something that deserves condemnation.".
MK Moshe Shimon Roth"I was shocked to hear about the events that happened tonight at the holy site of Rashbi, and about the police violence against worshipers. Even if there were a small handful who behaved in a way that was in no way appropriate for the Haredi public, this does not justify severe violence on the part of the police to the point of throwing an elderly Jew to the floor.".
"As I have already raised the issue with the Minister of National Security, MK Itamar Ben-Gvir, I am confident that he will take into account the treatment of those police officers who give the entire Israel Police a bad name and put an end to police violence.""
Deputy Minister of Culture MK Jacob Tesler"I was shocked by the severe cases of violence by police officers today in Meron, and in particular the horrific footage in which a Border Police officer brutally slams an unresisting adult to the floor for no reason. This is an extremely unusual and outrageous case. This evening, I appealed to the Minister of National Security and the Police Commissioner to order the immediate dismissal of the violent police officer and to bring him to justice. There is no place for gross and dangerous violence in the public service.".
Chairman of Shas Aryeh DaraJ: "This documentation is unbearable. A crime that will not be forgiven. The Israel Police must announce today that it is immediately removing the Border Police officer from his position and bringing him to justice.".
