Torah-true Jewry has shown widespread support for the avreich who sustained severe injuries in Jerusalem on Shabbos night when he was run over in the presence of police — and according to eyewitnesses, based on orders by a police officer — following a demonstration over the opening of the Karta parking lot on Shabbos.
Knesset Public Affairs committee chairman MK Rabbi Uri Maklev has asked the Internal Affairs Committee to convene an urgent meeting to examine the chain of events leading up to the incident, which left the victim hospitalized at Hadassah Medical Center.
In a letter sent to committee chairman MK David Azoulai this week, Rabbi Maklev wrote, "Following the grave scandal that took place last Leil Shabbos in which a chareidi Jew in Jerusalem was run over and severely injured by a car that continued driving regardless of his presence, and with a police officer on hand, I hereby request the Knesset Internal Affairs Committee meet immediately, despite the summer recess, to discuss this pressing matter.
"As reported [in the Yated Ne'eman article enclosed with the letter], the shocking incident transpired after Tefilat Arvit on Leil Shabbat, which was held opposite the Karta parking lot, as a protest against the opening of the parking lot on Shabbat during the day. After the prayer service, which took place without any unusual incidents, when hundreds of protesters started to march on foot toward Meah Shearim, one of them decided to lie down on the road to prevent cars from passing.
"According to eyewitnesses, the driver of a private vehicle began driving toward the avreich lying on the pavement in plain view of a police officer on hand and ran him over, causing severe injuries. The police officer made no effort to stop the car, which continued driving. The victim was taken to Hadassah Medical Center in serious condition. Following the accident, tempers flared and the demonstration continued for a long period of time. Fourteen protesters were arrested, including, as usual, innocent passersby who chanced to walk by on their way to prayers at the Western Wall."
Rabbi Maklev also points out: "These arrests are a continuation of a long series of arrests in Jerusalem neighborhoods and at main intersections in the city. People walking to various destinations are arrested and used by the police as hostages. This is in addition to the improper conduct of police during the arrests themselves." In his letter Rabbi Maklev notes that the police then impose collective punishment on the chareidi public in the form of curtailed transportation and other services.
On Sunday the District Court ordered the release of the 14 protesters arrested on Shabbos, but following an appeal filed by police insisting they remain in custody, the court decided to return the case to the Magistrate's Court in order to carefully review the charges, which the police claimed were quite serious.
