Tel-Chai Nation

Some Haredi extremists in the Mea Shearim enclave of Jerusalem decided to cause a ruckus instead of keeping safe from potential Coronavirus infection, and police accidentally caused a young girl nearby to be hurt by a stun grenade:

Riots erupted Thursday night in the hardline ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim in Jerusalem, with protesters hurling objects at police forces, who responded by throwing stun grenades, one of which injured a nine-year-old girl passing by.

Approximately 100 people demonstrated against the ban on communal prayers and restrictions on mikveh ritual baths amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The government on Thursday extended the closure rules in several, mostly Haredi, neighborhoods in the capital until April 19.

The protest hadn’t been coordinated with authorities and did not adhere to Health Ministry guidelines on social distancing.

When police forces arrived to disperse the crowd, some demonstrators hurled rocks, metal rods, eggs and other objects at the cops.

Violence also erupted inside one of the local synagogues after the police officers entered it.

CCTV footage from a local street showed cops throwing the stun grenade that hit the nine-year-old girl who hadn’t been taking part in the riot, and exploded right next to a stroller with a baby in it. The girl’s parents reportedly plan on filing a complaint after Shabbat with the Police Internal Investigations Department.

The girl, Zissel Margaliot, told the Ynet news site that she was injured near her eye and had felt her head was “on fire.” She said she had run, panicking, looking for people who would help her.

Margaliot’s parents said they had taken Zissel to a private medical clinic rather than a hospital, fearing a coronavirus infection.

“They gave her ointments. She had pain and couldn’t sleep all night, she’s in shock,” said her father, Dov, who said she had been buying food for Shabbat.

Senior police officer Ofer Shomer told the Kan public broadcaster that the grenade hadn’t been thrown to where the girl was standing and claimed the officers had used “reasonable” force.

Police said in a statement that 12 people were arrested and that officers “did not notice the presence of the mother and child in the eye of the storm,” while dispersing the rioters.

Three officers were injured during the riots, police said, with one requiring hospital treatment.

Of course it's disgusting that a young girl would be hurt by the tool, but the rioters themselves have to be held at least partly responsible, considering that the rocks they threw could kill someone if heavy and hurled hard enough. Were the police just supposed to allow themselves to be injured as well without a fight? This isn't all that different from Gaza, where Islamofascists could put children in danger for the sake of jihadism. Failure to educate extreme Haredis for the better and draw them out of what's an otherwise poor lifestyle will only ensure more of this madness that could've been avoided.

Labels: haredi corruption, Israel, Jerusalem, Moonbattery