Three years ago at this time, Israeli forces were laying
siege to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. A total of
123 armed Palestinian men were inside, having taken refuge
there as Israeli troops swept through the city looking for
them. 13 of them were known murderers. They were planners and
executers of terror. The Moslem fugitives abused the
Christian monks who controlled the building, and defaced the
building itself. They shot from the church at Israeli troops
and they were a threat to all those in the immediate area as
well as a long-term threat to virtually everyone in Israel,
and they all thoroughly deserved to be locked away.
In any other building, the troops would either have broken in
to kill or capture the murderers, or perhaps have broken down
the building itself. Since the building in question was a
church, the Israeli security establishment knew that any
violent entry into the building had to be ruled out
categorically.
After a five-week siege, an agreement was reached and the
worst murderers were exiled to Europe, while most of the rest
were sent to Gaza.
It is the same thing with regard to mosques. Many Moslem
religious leaders openly advocate terror. (The bomber of the
number 2 bus in Jerusalem was a religious leader.) On several
occasions Israeli troops found stores of arms in mosques and
it is likely that there are a lot more that they have not
found. But they cannot enter mosques under normal
circumstances.
In all these cases the IDF knows that it has to act with
restraint.
Despite the vast differences involved, police in Yerushalayim
showed no such inhibitions when they dealt with a beis
medrash. They broke in brutally to the Satmar beis
medrash in Geulah, and beat people who offered them no
resistance.
The police themselves at first denied that they did anything
of the sort. But they could not deny the films that were made
of the events.
Then they claimed that a policeman was threatened, and even
the next day they said that one of the police was moderately
wounded by one of the "rioters." However when MK Rabbi Meir
Porush asked to go visit the wounded policeman, they had to
admit that there was nothing of the sort.
There were reports of non-threatening violence such as
burning garbage bins. Such acts are the work of irresponsible
youths who are looking for action. Such acts are regularly
condemned by all of the leadership of the chareidi
community.
The truth is that the police need no provocation to act
brutally. Whoever is demonstrating complains of their
brutality, from left to right, and secular to religious. It
is definitely not the case that if everyone complains the
police must be doing something right. In this instance they
are always in the wrong. The problem is that each sector
complains in turn when it suffers, but no one follows through
to do something to stop it.
There were no calls for any investigation. The top commanders
said that such actions require approval and it was not sought
or given in this case. It is likely that the truth will never
be known, and that those responsible will not pay for their
actions. We can only hope that they will not be rewarded.
