Violent ultra-Orthodox demonstration in Jerusalem, February 22, 2023/All World News
Between the years 2022-2023, the state attorney's office filed indictments for prohibited assembly only against ultra-orthodox demonstrators.
This is according to a response to a freedom of information request submitted by the Ministry of Justice to the Union of Yeshiva in Israel, a body that unites many ultra-Orthodox yeshiva.
The data is correct as of the end of June 2023, and from them it appears that between 2022-2023, eleven indictments for the offense of prohibited assembly were filed against ultra-orthodox protesters by the Jerusalem district attorney's office who demonstrated against the development works of the light rail route in Jerusalem.
It also appears that the indictments were filed in less than six months since the end of the investigation into the case of the ultra-Orthodox defendants by the police, which is considered a relatively quick procedure.
However, it should be noted that the prosecutor's office does not compile statistics on indictments filed according to a cross-section of the population, and that the ultra-Orthodox community participates in the demonstrations against the light rail, as opposed to other populations.
Additional details that should be noted are that Jerusalem is a city saturated with various demonstrations by various parties, and that the prosecutor's office is not filing an indictment for the offense of blocking a road, against any person.
The indictments were filed in less than six months since the end of the investigation into the ultra-Orthodox defendants by the police, which is considered a relatively quick procedure.
Haredi protesters/Maariv, Avshalom Sassooni
From the charges filed, a uniform picture emerges according to which a group of ultra-Orthodox mobs arrives at the work site in the area of Bar Ilan Road in the Ramat Eshkol neighborhood of Jerusalem and sits on the ground in a way that does not allow the work to continue there.
In recent years, ultra-orthodox demonstrations have been held in the area as part of the fight against the green line of the light rail.
The demonstrations caused a considerable delay in the works and financial damages estimated at millions of shekels.
The ultra-Orthodox argue that the passage of the train in the area could damage its conservative ultra-Orthodox image.
Enforcement against the protesters intensified with the filing of some lesser charges for disturbing public order.
According to the guidance of the state attorney, the attorney's office must consider prosecuting a person for the offense of prohibited assembly, only when it was accompanied by additional offenses or when it was committed under aggravating circumstances.
That is, only in very exceptional cases.
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The ultra-Orthodox argue that the passage of the train in the area could damage its conservative ultra-Orthodox image.
Ultra-Orthodox protesters/Flash 90, no
The state attorney's office responded: "The attorney's office examines each case on its own merits, according to the standards established by law and the state attorney's instructions. The claim that indictments were filed for illegal assembly only against ultra-orthodox demonstrators is incorrect and relies on a selective and trending cutting of a certain period of time."
Attorney Shmuel Horvitz, a partner in the firm of attorneys Gadlihu and Horvitz, who represents ultra-Orthodox defendants who were indicted following their participation in the demonstration, said to Walla!: "In a democratic country, people should be given an equal right to express their opinion, especially when it is not comfortable to hear. The procedures will lead to a person in Israel being able to go out without fear and demonstrate anywhere in the country, regardless of the place of the demonstration or the ideology behind it."
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