Whoever reads the reports in the ultra-orthodox and general media about what is happening in the burning alleys of Mea Shearim, will receive superficial and inaccurate information.
Last Thursday, Mirel Dzhalovsky, in her 40s, mother of 11 children, the youngest of whom is an eight-month-old baby, was seriously injured.
Dzhalovski lives near the main protest center on Bar-Ilan Street.
The trigger for the current demonstrations was the arrest of a suspect from the fanatic community in Beit Shemesh for setting fire to a telephone shop on Malki Israel Street that, according to them, sold cell phones that were not under the supervision of the Rabbinical Committee.
The image that emerges from the reports smeared with bloody and threatening headlines tells the story, stitched together with rough seams, of the extreme Mea Shearim neighborhood, which reacts with violence that goes so far as to set off a burning trash can that almost killed Dzalovsky, a resident of the neighborhood who went with her married daughter to do Shabbat shopping.
The real picture, as mentioned, is slightly different: after the death of the leader of the ultra-orthodox community, Rabbi Tovia Weiss, the community was left without an official leader to unite it.
Due to disagreement over the appointment of the next leader, they were left divided without a head.
The bigotry remains the same bigotry, and the methods of action against what they call "the destruction of religion" remain the same.
But from in-depth conversations with the residents of Mea Shearim, some of whom belong to the most extreme factions, a disturbing picture emerges;
While the extremists among the people of Neturi Karta operate in the twilight zone of the law but keep their hands clean, they give room for action in the blink of an eye to a riotous youth squad, consisting of minors who escape from the welfare authorities.
They do not belong to the classic profile of Mea Shearim and usually come from dysfunctional families.
They take the law into their own hands and in many cases pay the price.
In order to understand what is happening in the alleys of the neighborhood, which is perhaps the most complex in the country, it is necessary to talk to the local people.
Only then do you hear the unbelievable story happening below the surface.
Mea Shearim does not like media presence.
Those who spoke to us for the quote chose words, were very careful not to upset anyone, warned us a thousand times that no one would think they were criticizing, God forbid.
One of them is a distant relative of the seriously injured woman, a very old Jew, who lives in the heart of the neighborhood and no longer belongs to the Neturi Karta community.
But despite the initial agreement, his family refused to hear him, fearing that what he said would harm him in the future in front of the mental hot springs.
Burning tin in Mea Shearim.
"There are many children who are not treated well, from broken families", photo: police spokeswoman
Everyone knows and is silent
Because the truth is this: while everyone is asking why the police don't arrest the suspects in the burning garbage container, and how they can be reached - in Mea Shearim, almost everyone quietly knows who is the alleged main culprit in what happened on Thursday and in other non-stop violent activities.
According to old residents of the neighborhood, where it is impossible to hide anything, this is an elusive 16-year-old boy, who is today the "dangerous threat" that Israel Police officers are looking for.
This is a boy who looks righteous and innocent, quiet, introverted and walks with a shy smile.
But he is not alone.
"The police don't understand something very basic when they come to deal with this story," tells us H., a 40-year-old Hasidic, who has lived in the neighborhood for almost 30 years and knows every alley in it.
"This is a squad. Not a few kids making a mess. This is an organized squad led by what is known here as 'the brain'. They have explosive devices, black helmets, items for masked people and some fast electric bikes. I saw them in action with my own eyes," he says, "when they They go on violent actions at three in the morning."
Shmuel Haim Pappenheim, who was formerly the editor of the newspaper "Haeda", the publication of the ultra-Orthodox community, and one of its prominent businessmen and spokesmen for the ultra-Orthodox community, told us: "I heard people from Mea Sheareim telling me that the police detectives have already caught the main suspect. They really caught him, but he He managed to escape from them into the alleys he was familiar with. According to the people who spoke to me, the pursuit of him was careless and it seemed that no effort was made to catch him. The people of Mea Sheareim are very frustrated. In the end, they are the ones who suffer from a fatal injury to their daily lives."
"The real story is that, as I understand it, the police are confident that they are dealing with bully children and do not internalize that the incident they are facing is that of an organized gang," says H. and describes the background of the minors.
According to him, they come from a difficult background and the youngest in the group is only 11 years old.
"Their squad, with the help of several adults in the 20s and 30s, is the one that allegedly derailed the blast that seriously injured the woman, and is responsible for a number of sabotage operations in the area. In the past year, an independently organized squad of several minors, aged 11 to 17, has been operating in Mea Shearim They don't study in educational institutions, and the welfare authorities and the police are chasing them. Recently, the welfare authorities, with the assistance of the Jerusalem police, managed to get their hands on the youngest of them, an 11-year-old boy. It was the same squad that damaged the bus that got stuck in the Mea Shearim alleys," describes H., who was present instead of.
Describe what you saw with your own eyes.
"On Wednesday night, disturbances occurred on Yehezkel Street in Jerusalem, as a protest against the arrest of a resident of Beit Shemesh on suspicion of setting fire to the cell phone store in the Geula neighborhood about two months ago. As a result, a 'Superbus' bus, which made its way to the Ramot neighborhood, had to make a detour through Mea Shearim Street , where he fell into the line of sight of the rioters, who blocked his path. Within minutes, members of the same squad arrived on the scene and began damaging the bus. Two of them brought an electric screwdriver with them and began to puncture the four wheels of the bus. When a police force arrived on the scene to rescue the bus, some of them Large stones were thrown at the policemen, who also smashed the windshield of the bus."
H. says that as soon as he saw how those young people were placing cardboard boxes under the bus, he realized that they were planning to set it on fire and feared a major disaster that would claim lives.
The bus got stuck in a narrow alley, and if a fire had broken out in it and smoke would have spread - they would certainly have endangered the children's lives.
"Although I usually don't dare to intervene, I turned to the leader of the rioters and made it clear to him that if he dares to start a fire, he will kill little children here. I saw that he hesitated and abandoned his plan."
What else did you see?
"They broke into the cell phone stores and damaged them, set fire to engineering tools in Bar Ilan, sabotaged traffic lights in the Shabbat square and carried out other actions. On the eve of the last Sukkot holiday, the internal lines of Mea Shearim announced that the mayor of Jerusalem would arrive at the Four Species Market in the Buharim neighborhood, next to the Musayouf Synagogue The members of that squad arrived first on the scene, attacked the mayor and smashed his car. Leon immediately fled to the yard of one of the houses until the YSM team rescued him.
The members of the squad, who operate in the Mea Shearim neighborhood, routinely attack ultra-Orthodox women wearing wigs, spit on them, and throw cups full of tea and hot coffee at them.
On one occasion, an elderly woman who belongs to the Brisk group passed by, when she wore a wig, the members of the squad attacked her and spat in her face.
Another time, a French couple drove through the neighborhood in their car.
The members of the squad arrived at the scene and poked the car's wheels, because in their opinion the woman did not dress modestly enough."
And how do they react in the neighborhood?
"In Mea Shearim they don't always like the activities of that squad, and many even disapprove of the actions and vandalism that its members commit, but there are those who do back them up and sponsor them, especially in actions against the light rail works on the Bar-Ilan route."
Do they also hurt the police?
"More often than not, when the officers of the Lev HaBira station enter into an initiative activity in the neighborhood, the members of the squad wait for them and throw large stones at them as they hide in the yards of the houses. On one occasion, the YSM force entered Mea Shearim at three in the morning to remove a Palestinian flag.
One of the members of the squad came towards them from zero distance and threw a large stone in their direction, the stone missed the policeman and hit a citizen who was standing near them, the citizen received a significant crack in his left shoulder."
And what happened last Thursday?
"There were disturbances and clashes on Yehezkel Street in protest of the continued arrest of a resident of Beit Shemesh, who is suspected of setting fire to the cell phone store. Three members of the same squad participated in those disturbances. They arrived at Ravno Gershom Street, the intersection of Yehezkel Street, an intersection located at the top of a steep slope, and moved a large garbage container from its place Moving the bin was difficult, and they asked for help from three young men. After that, they rolled the bin down the street. It hit a woman who was passing by and seriously injured her."
Pappenheim, who hears H's words, confirms that they are accurate.
"It is important to note that there are people from Mea Sheareim who go out to protest and really mean it. They come to the place, pray and shout. But there are more aggressive people among them. They are able to push, but not pick up a stone. And there are the extreme fringes of some guys, not idealists, And they are responsible for riots. The extremists among the people of Naturi Karta shout ideology, organize a demonstration, take advantage of innocent people who believe that this is the way to protest. And on the fringes are joined by those children who come from difficult backgrounds and are responsible for vandalism. They found, for example, a repentant, lonely man and warmed him. He is the one who is now arrested By the police on suspicion of setting fire to the phone shop. The organizers are walking around freely. The Negro has done his thing, the Negro can go. Cannon fodder."
"You have to tell the truth," he adds.
"In the Mea Shearim area, there are many children who are not well cared for. Children who come from broken families, without livelihood, some of them are refugees from Berland's 'Shubo Benim' community. They behave like crazy in the neighborhood, and there is no one to restrain them. The head of the squad you have been talking about for two years is attacking people in the street , if they don't look good to him, smashes shop windows and does whatever he wants. In all these wild demonstrations there are three or four young guys that everyone knows, and they are the ones who break traffic lights and drag garbage cans. The police know exactly who knocked over the garbage can that was badly damaged In a woman. This is the same 16-year-old boy. The police almost caught him, but he ran away."
Do the residents here trust the police?
"No. They say that they feel that the police activity is only to go out of their way. Not an in-depth activity. A few days ago, the same young men also smashed the store window of the Halperin Optics chain and destroyed the store, only due to the fact that the chain uses pictures of women in its advertisements throughout the country ".
Do you recognize a process here? Does it get worse over time?
"This extremist group does not only act against the symbols of the state, but commits terrorism inside the home. If a certain rabbi doesn't seem right to them, they use violence against him. For example, there is a halachic debate about a filter that filters the water in the mikvah. In most mikvahs all over the world, the great rabbis have ruled that it is Excellent, but they decided it didn't suit them. They are terrorizing the Badz, against the rabbis who train.
These guys came to shout at women inside the Zupnik mikveh, which is the center of the ultra-orthodox community, 'You are not pure'.
This is unbridled extremism.
Most of the residents of Mea Shearim, Geula, Beit Ongrin and the surrounding area are walking around frustrated and scared.
They are good and decent people, Chassidim, Lithuanians, Tolad Aharon, and they feel that it is convenient for the authorities that the ultra-Orthodox are blaming each other and they are not doing enough to save them from their arms.
Everyone asks: 'What will happen and where will we end up?'
How can you not catch them? With all due respect, these are boys.
"The police have already been inside the neighborhood three times, with very accurate intelligence, but they escaped them. Should the police do a pogrom now in Mea Shearim and scare everyone, especially when it comes to young, dynamic guys who run around and know every stone? They don't sleep at home, the houses dismantled. They sleep in the synagogue on the bench, receive some kind of sponsorship from the community in Mea Shearim. I heard yesterday from people who told one of them: 'Come, take a break, go to Safed, get away from all the hustle and bustle, invest in yourself and the police will stop chasing you. But he was not ready . He says: 'My place is here.'
Against the background of these things, one can understand the boy's mother who spoke to us with great suspicion.
I told her that I was contacting her after I saw that she had spoken about police violence against her sons.
"It's been two years since then, what's happening to them today? Are they still suffering from police violence?"
I asked.
"There's been a lot of commotion in Mea Shearim recently. Are you talking about the burning of the trash? It wasn't in Mea Shearim, but in Bar Ilan. And we weren't there. My sons study in yeshivot," she replied.
It is important to remember that the mother is another victim in the story.
If the police don't have control over them, she probably doesn't.
A resident of the neighborhood told us that in his opinion the harsh treatment towards her is exaggerated.
"Three times they completely turned her whole house upside down. I understand the police, but they are poor too."
Mea Shearim.
The demonstrations harm the routine of life in the neighborhood, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
"We cooperated fully"
The injured woman's father-in-law, Israel Aryeh Dzalovsky, a Karlin Hasid who lives near Mea Shearim and the center of the demonstrations, tells us cautiously: "We speculate on who the attackers are, there are three young men who we think allegedly did the deed, but we do not interfere with the work of the police, whose role is Enforcement. We are busy assisting my daughter-in-law's family, being there for them in all aspects. But we cooperated fully with the police officer who arrived at the hospital, and we are waiting for updates from the police."
Shmuel, a young man of 25, married, from the extremist community in Neturi Karta, hears that we are sniffing and talking to some of the residents of the neighborhood, and he is ready to answer our questions and spread his extremist doctrine.
He doesn't apologize and doesn't stutter.
"We are protesting about things that concern us, such as digging graves, observing Shabbat in an ultra-Orthodox area, a train that will not pass through an ultra-Orthodox area, that there will be no cell phone stores in our neighborhoods. We advocate absolute separatism. We do not take money from the state, we do not have a health insurance fund, etc., and we fight to preserve Our way of life. There is no demonstration that is declared as violent," he says in disgust.
"There are demonstrations that degenerate into violence. When we go to a demonstration, block a road and set fire to a trash can, I really don't see it as violence. The police come, beat with batons, and this degenerates the demonstration into violence, because people throw objects at the police in response. The injured woman is an unfortunate incident that happened. During the protests Ours has never had a police officer killed or seriously injured. Accidents happen. In secular society, people are stabbed on an hourly basis on purpose. The IDF accidentally kills a girl in Jenin, and everyone understands that we are at war and that accidents happen.
Once a woman was injured.
With all the sadness in the matter, so what?
what's the excitement
Happens".
If she had been killed, would you have spoken the same way?
"Yes! Accidents happen on the road every day."
If that was your mother, would you talk like that too?
"Yes, because that's the truth. Not because it's my mother or not my mother. When it's my mother, the emotions get mixed up and I can't think clearly. If a car comes and runs over my mother, I can go crazy and demand that no more cars drive on the same street. Does it make sense? No. 70 years of dragging trash cans in demonstrations and nothing happens. There's no need to make it seem like it's something dramatic. It's an accident for all intents and purposes."
And what will you say about the attack on the policemen?
"The police are only busy with the media, what will they say on the news. They are making noise. Police teams are coming for a picture of a speaker.
we are not afraid
The police are a joke.
If you really want to arrest someone, you send two patrol officers to knock on his door and handcuff him.
When you send 40 police officers, you don't really want to arrest anyone.
They're just teenage kids.
Everything boils down to media pressure.
The police want to show: 'Here, we are working'.
They turn you around and you turn around.
I am in favor.
All parties benefit.
The police gain photos, the media gain stories, we gain by not actually arresting anyone."
But in the end, the people whose lives are ruined are the people of Mea Shearim, who suffer from the demonstrations, the noise, the police, and the vandalism.
"Whoever doesn't suit him - shouldn't live here. Meanwhile Mea Shearim is the most expensive neighborhood in Israel, an apartment in Mea Shearim costs 4 million shekels."
They came to live here by choice.
For 70 years it has been going like this.
Burning trash is neither violence nor vandalism."
And the bus that ran into the neighborhood and was severely attacked?
"What's the problem with children puncturing the wheels of a bus? There is a demonstration. Children did what they did, I don't see it as something serious that should be acted upon."
Why are you protesting against the light rail works, which are not even planned to pass through Mea Shearim?
"Because we don't want a train that will connect us to the secular neighborhoods. We want to remain in separatism."
And for this they destroy heavy tools worth millions of shekels?
"Yes. You are destroying our souls. You are destroying our children. We are burning a tractor. We are the most open Haredim in the world. The 'normative' Haredim, those who vote for the Haredi parties, want to influence the Jewish identity of the country - they have a problem with public transportation in Tel Spring on Shabbat, with shops that are open on Shabbat in Ashdod, with 'Tiv Taam' selling pork on the streets. We have no problem with that. We agree that there will be public transportation on Shabbat throughout the country. We do not impose our religion on anyone secular and want the secular to remain secular. We are against a return In response. We are in favor of one thing - let us live our lives the way we want. We don't take social security, or a health insurance fund. Don't interfere with us. Don't bring public transportation into Mea Shearim - in Tel Aviv, do what you want."
Will the police succeed in eradicating the gang that operates in the neighborhood?
"No chance. Show arrests will be made. It will fall in court. At most, they will get a two-day extension of detention."
where does it go Who will surrender first, you or the police?
"We fight for religion, and they fight for salary. We will always win in the end."
The cell phone store that was set on fire.
"The majority of the ultra-Orthodox public supports us", photo: Police spokespersons
"For a normative protest"
Moshe, 22 years old, another young man from the Neturi Karta community who spoke with us, belongs to one of the most respected families in Mea Shearim - the mainstream of the mainstream.
His messages are eloquent and clear.
He does not get confused, mobilizes the current events in favor of his arguments, demonstrates an impressive knowledge of what is happening on the other side of the road.
He also participates in demonstrations to keep the neighborhood clean.
Who guides you?
"There is a committee of rabbis for communication matters. What they approve can be sold, what is not - no. Anyone who wants a non-kosher phone, should buy it in Jaffa."
He is also aware of the existence of the group of children who take the reins and riot one step too far.
are you for it
"We are in favor of demonstrating in a normative protest. Standing outside the store and protesting. The violent actions, I call them 'the child's side,' there are no grown people you will see pushing trash cans."
The orthodox mainstream says you are not orthodox. you are crazy
"It doesn't bother me that they condemn what happened to that woman who was injured. Everyone condemns. It's normal. It bothers me that they only just came out of the dungeons. The day before there was police violence in Bar Ilan, and they didn't condemn. , run over, to run over the demonstrators. And they did not condemn. That day in Beit Shemesh, a protester was run over by a car, and they remained silent."
But you are also violent, and the police react accordingly.
"Check who is violent. A document has come out in which police officers are seen encouraging citizens who were just present in the demonstration area to keep walking, and beating them with batons. An innocent boy who asked them to speak nicely, was beaten to death."
Is this the way of Torah? To destroy the routine of life for so many good people?
"According to the Torah, it is permissible to do this. Everyone stops the fabric of life for what is important to them. One will do it for an election rally, one for a puppy's wedding. There are people who demonstrate en masse when they harm my religion. We stop the routine when Judaism is harmed. Everyone demonstrates, The question is about what."
The question is how much, how often. A puppy's wedding happens once every three years, an election once every four. You riot almost every day. You can't live like this.
"We protest where we live. We don't go somewhere else. If it bothers someone, he is a minority. We don't travel on public transportation. The fabric of life is not disrupted. The right-wing protested in front of Auerbach's house for six months, the settlers protested for a whole period every week for the killing of her loved ones Godfather and stop the entrance to Jerusalem, the left protested in Balfour and will protest in many places in the years to come, the Iranians are protesting in Iran, and no one in the western world thinks even for a moment that it should be stopped because it disrupts daily life and even causes injuries and deaths. Do you know why? Because in the end everyone Demonstrating for what is important to him and what he thinks is a just struggle, even though it disrupts everyday life."
You blew up a conference of ultra-Orthodox women in Jerusalem, a conference of a popular ultra-Orthodox rabbi, only because it was financed by the Mizrahi movement. Do the rabbis agree with this as well? You bullied women who did nothing to you! And it wasn't even in Mea Shearim
.
"From our point of view, it was like a conference funded by Hamas. How many times have conferences been blown up here in Israel? I am allowed according to the law to come inside a conference and make a mess."
In protest of the arrest of the suspect in the cell phone store arson.
Haredim riot in Mea Shearim, photo: Police spokespersons
A relative of Mira Dzalovsky, who is fighting for her life:
"The boy did not intend to kill. We are not looking for the guilty. Everyone is celebrating our shocking event"
Any sane person understands that a heavy, burning garbage container can kill, especially when it falls from a great height.
On Monday of this week, we published an unusual message on behalf of the injured woman's family, who claimed that the media was waiting for Mea Shearim to make the rounds to celebrate the mistake the boys made.
The speaker is Israel Aryeh Dzalovski, the mother-in-law of Mirel Dzalovski who was injured.
"The discourse of hate that broke out following the reports about our serious case saddens us and adds to our pain. The handful who rioted committed a terrible act of vandalism, but did not intend for the tragic result. The young boys did a terrible and terrible act of course, but they did not intend to harm, but to block a road as part of a demonstration. We are pained People think that with this hatred they are strengthening us. We are not looking for culprits."
"But you are the ones who suffer from these demonstrations" - I say to Israel Aryeh Dzhalovsky, the mother-in-law of Mira Dzhalovsky who was injured.
"True. Transportation stops, there is a mess and the police, the routine of life goes awry. These are people who apparently hold the same ideology as us, but they think that by taking extreme actions they will preserve the hotbed of Mea Shearim. We are not against the group that operates here in extremes, but we are not in favor of it either. The path is not considered and measured, but we sympathize with the idea."
How was your daughter-in-law injured?
"The container veered to the right and instead of falling onto the road, it hit the sidewalk where she was standing, hitting her in the chest. She fell to the floor. It was a miracle that the container collided with the corner of the wall and stopped, thus not crushing her completely. Her married daughter, Yochaved, ran away in astonishment, but stood there A friend who works with her at school, and she tried to provide first aid. Mira was still on the phone and was conscious in the ambulance. To the extent of the horror, her children saw everything from the balcony."
Did any of them contact you? Did you apologize? Did you receive a warranty?
"For now, no. We know more or less who these are. These are three of our own guys. We are not looking to arrest anyone, but we are looking for a correction to this general situation. Let all these demonstrations stop. An officer came to the hospital, but my son, Mira's husband , was not there. I have another son who is hospitalized in Haifa. He had a serious accident four months ago. On Thursday, the day my brain was damaged, he underwent two surgeries at Rambam in Haifa.
My son heard what happened to his wife and started screaming.
In the first hours she was in critical condition.
She had a ruptured lung, which filled with blood.
On Saturday night we were told: 'You received her as a gift.
It was a matter of seconds and you would have lost her."
Aren't you afraid to live in a place where your daughter-in-law was almost murdered?
"There was no intention to kill. Maybe now after what happened, it will finally stop."
"Many, many people fail to understand your forgiving discourse towards them," I say to the relative who is at her bedside in the hospital.
"אף אחד במשפחה לא בעניין של לחפש אשמים. לא מפחדים בכלל. אין לנו מה לפחד מאף אחד. אבל אנחנו יהודים מאמינים. תעשו דברים לזכותה. תפסיקו את שיח השנאה. זה לא ייתן לנו כלום, זה רק עושה לנו רע. אנחנו מחפשים זכויות. אני לא ממונה על עשיית הצדק בארץ הזאת. מי שצריך למנוע שריפת פחים - שיאכוף. אנחנו מתרכזים רק בהחלמה של מירי ומבקשים שירבו אהבה, ולא להשמיץ אחד את השני".
פרוטקשן בלב ירושלים
"בהתחלה ביקשו מאיתנו עשרת אלפים, עכשיו נשלם 30 אלף"
אורלי דרעי, 23, עובדת בדוברות של משרד התחבורה, גרה בירושלים. בעלה יצחק 26, מנהל את חנות הטלפונים דיגיטאצ' ברחוב מלכי ישראל 29 בירושלים. זו החנות שהציתה את הסערה והייתה הטריגר להפגנות של הקיצוניים במאה שערים לאחר שהמשטרה עצרה חשוד מבית שמש במעשה. גם כאשר אורן הצלם שלנו מגיע לצלם את יצחק דרעי בחנותו, הוא חושש ומעדיף להוריד את התריס עד למטה כדי שאיש לא ישים לב שיש צלם בהחנות.
"ההצקות התחילו בעקבות פנייה של נציגי ועדת הרבנים לבעלי, בנושא תעודת כשרות". היא משתפת. "הנציגים איימו על בעלי שיעשה תעודת כשרות, ואם לא ניכנע, הם יארגנו לנו בכל יום הפגנות. כמובן שפחדנו, אבל לא התרגשנו מהאיומים על ההפגנות. לא קיבלנו איומים או מסרים לפני השריפה. לא העלינו על דעתנו שדבר כזה יכול להתרחש".
את יכולה להבין את החשש שלהם מפני מכירת טלפונים שאינם כשרים לטענתם בשכונה שלהם?
"אנחנו מבינים את הצורך של הלקוחות באזור והדרישה באה מהם. יש רבנים שמבקשים שלא למכור בכלל פלאפונים לא כשרים, אך יש רבנים שמתירים למכור פלאפונים מסוננים (נגן שירים, מצלמה וכולי). מעולם לא נמכרו פלאפונים שאינם כשרים בחנות שהוצתה".
מה בעצם קרה כאן?
"הגיע אדם שהציג את עצמו כפעיל מרכזי בקהילה ונכנס לחנות. לטענתו, הוועדה קמה כדי למנוע מכירת פלאפונים שאינם כשרים לציבור החרדי. הוא דרש מבעלי לשלם 10,000 שקלים על 'תעודת כשרות', ודרש שיזמין דרכו את מוצרי הסלולר. הוא איים שבמידה ובעלי לא יעשה זאת, יתקיימו הפגנות מול החנות שלו. כשבעלי הבין שמדובר בוועדה שהסמיכה את עצמה, ומטרתה לעשות כסף באמצעות איומים, הוא החליט שהוא לא מוכן לשלם שום סכום. כשאותו רב הבין שהוא לא מוכן לשתף פעולה, הוא התחיל לאיים שישלח מאות מפגינים, ואף יישם את האיום. ימים אחדים אחרי אותו מפגש בין בעלי לבין ה״רב״, החלו להתקבץ עשרות מפגינים סביב החנות שלו, והפריעו לו לעבוד, תוך שהם מונעים מלקוחות שלו להיכנס לחנות. במשך שבועות רבים ומידי יום המשיכו להגיע אליו עשרות מפגינים קיצוניים ומחו כנגד כך שלא הצטרף לוועדה וקנה תעודה. עם הזמן, ההפגנות נעשו אלימות יותר, עד לאותו לילה, שבו הגיעו אנשים והציתו את החנות. החנות נשרפה כליל ולא נשאר ממנה זכר. בליל ההצתה- ב4:00 לפנות בוקר של יום ראשון שלפני כיפור, בעלי קם בצרחות: 'שרפו לי את החנות' לא הבנתי מה הוא אומר, הייתי בטוחה שזו טעות, עד שהוא הראה לי תמונה של החנות עולה באש. הוא אמר לי שהוא יוצא מהבית לראות מה קורה. לבדוק האם נשאר זכר, אך החנות נשרפה כליל".
האם היו לכם מחשבות לברוח עם העסק למקום אחר, שפוי יותר?
"בעלי מאוד אוהב את המקום ואת האנשים, ולכן הוא החליט לפתוח שם מחדש לאחר השריפה. רוב הציבור החרדי תומך בנו. פתחנו קמפיין גיוס המונים, אך לצערנו הוא לא צלח. כרגע בעלי בחובות מול ספקים. מפני שברגע שהיו מתחילות ההפגנות, בעלי היה סוגר את החנות ובכך מפסיד שעות עבודה. הנזק שנוצר מההפגנות ומהשריפה מגיע למאות אלפי שקלים".
האם כעת, לאחר השריפה, עדיין דורשים ממכם להחזיק תעודה?
"לאחר שיפוץ החנות, בעלי החליט שהוא מעוניין לשלם על קבלת תעודת כשרות. אז בשורה תחתונה, נכנענו. הוא דיבר עם האחראים, ואמרו לו שהוא צריך לשלם 30,000 שקלים במזומן, ולהביא את המפתח ל'משגיח כשרות', כך שיוכל להיכנס בכל שעות היממה, לבדוק שאין פלאפונים לא כשרים. חשוב לציין שאלה תנאים שלא היו לפני השריפה, מעולם הם לא ביקשו דבר כזה. המשטרה מודעת לכל עניין הפרוטקשן, אך לא תמיד יש מה לעשות בנידון, ובמיוחד כשמדובר בקבוצה כל כך קיצונית".
"לא העלינו על דעתנו שדבר כזה יכול להתרחש". יצחק דרעי,
שלומי טובול, מפקד תחנת לב הבירה:
"יש צביעות רבה בהתנהלות של ההנהגה החרדית"
ניצב משנה שלומי טובול, מפקד תחנת לב הבירה, שהגיע לתפקידו לאחרונה מבית שמש, שוחח עימנו. עקב צו איסור הפרסום על כל פרט מפרטי החקירה העוסק בפציעתה הקשה של דז'לובסקי, וכל פרט אחר העלול לזהות את החשודים, נאלצנו להשמיט פרטים רבים, וכך גם נבצר מטובול להתייחס לחלק משאלותינו.
שמענו מתושבי בית שמש רבים שהיו מרוצים ממדיניות הטיפול שלכם בקיצונים. האם אותה מדיניות מיושמת עתה במאה שערים?
"הקו הוא אותו קו, והשיטה אותה שיטה. כל מי שפועל בניגוד לחוק, מטופל. לא משנה מי הוא. מתייחסים לכולם באופן שווה. אין מקום שהוא אקס טריטוריה במאה שערים. יש שם הרבה אנשים הגונים וטובים. הקבוצה שמייצרת את האירועים האלימים אמנם נמנית עם המגזר החרדי, אך היא קבוצה קטנה שמאפילה ומשליכה על קבוצה גדולה מאוד של אנשים מצוינים".
אתם יודעים מי שרף ודרדר את מכולת האשפה?
"זה כרגע בשלבי חקירה מתקדמים. עובדים כדי להגיע לממצאים משמעותיים ובטוחים שנצליח לשים יד על הפורעים".
יש הרבה מצלמות בירושלים. על כל פיפס אנשים חוטפים דו"חות חניה. כיצד ייתכן שהאירוע לא צולם בבהירות?
"לא שמעת אותי אומר שאין. אל תניחי שאין. אנחנו לא יכולים לומר מה יש ומה אין בחומרי החקירה עקב צו איסור הפרסום".
תושבים ותיקים במאה שערים לוחשים בקול רם את שמו של האחראי לכאורה לפגיעה באישה.
"אנחנו בשלבי חקירה מתקדמים, עובדים כדי לסגור את כל הקצוות מבחינה ראייתית. אנחנו על זה, ואני מקווה שיהיו מעצרים בימים הקרובים".
האם אתם מבצעים מעצרי ראווה רק בשביל התקשורת?
"אנחנו לא מתעסקים בסרטים, ולא בהפקות ולא באקשן. המשטרה מטפלת באירועים בצורה מקצועית ומחושבת. כל הפעילות שמתבצעת בימים האחרונים ולמעשה מיום האירוע, היא לא פעילות כדי לייצר כותרות. התפקיד שלנו לתפוס את החשודים שביצעו את האירוע - נקודה. הלילה ביצענו כמה מעצרים של חשודים שקשורים לחלק מהאירועים בימים האחרונים".
עדי ראייה אומרים שהחשוד כבר היה בידיים שלכם, ונמלט.
"אני לא מכיר רשלנות של שוטרים. אני לא נכנס לשמות או לפרטים, אבל אנחנו עושים את כל המאמצים לשים את היד על כלל המעורבים. אנחנו מאוד ממוקדים".
נעזוב את מקרה הפח. אלו לא אירועים שנולדו רק לפני שבוע. האם המשטרה יודעת מול מי היא פועלת בכלל המקרים האלימים בשנתיים האחרונות?
"המשטרה יודעת מול מי היא פועלת. העצורים של הלילה הם בגילי 20-30. מעבר לכך, מתחילת השנה אנחנו מדברים על עשרות עצורים בגילים אחרים. עם הגשה של 28 כתבי אישום. 28 תביעות אזרחיות נגד מי שגרמו לפגיעה בגוף או בתשתיות. ככל שמדובר בקטינים, יש מקום לערב גורמי רווחה וחינוך. יש גורמים נוספים בעיריית ירושלים שמעורבים ומעניקים טיפול בחלק מהמקומות".
המנהיגות החרדית משתפת איתכם פעולה?
"ישנה צביעות רבה בקרב ההנהגה החרדית, ברשתות ובתקשורת. לפני שבוע וחצי היתה הפגנה של הפלג הירושלמי, ובאיזשהו שלב החל אירוע של יידויי אבנים וביצים לעבר השוטרים. כל עוד ההפגנה היתה שקטה, סגרנו את הצירים ונתנו לה להתנהל. נתתי הוראה לפזר את ההפגנה כשהתחילה אלימות. יום למחרת חווינו מתקפה שהמשטרה אלימה ומשתמשת בכוח נגד חפים מפשע.
"מצד שני, כשקורה אירוע מזעזע כמו המקרה עם האישה שנפצעה מהפח, צועקים איפה המשטרה ובוכים שהמשטרה חלשה. צריך להבין שאכיפה, הפרות סדר ופינוי הפגנה אינם דבר אסתטי. איפה שיפגעו בשוטרים, באזרחים, בתשתיות - המשטרה תגן. בשביל זה היא קיימת".
"ככל שמדובר בקטינים, יש מקום לערב גורמי רווחה וחינוך. יש גורמים נוספים בעיריית ירושלים שמעורבים ומעניקים טיפול בחלק מהמקומות". נצ"מ שלומי טובול, צילום: דוברות המשטרה
The response of Kambatz Shovu Benim Aharon Schwartz: "Any attempt to connect the unfortunate tragedy caused by ultra-Orthodox rioters with Rabbi Berland or his community is devoid of any foundation."
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