Hundreds of protesters against the judicial reform from the "Brothers In Arms" group protested Tuesday morning in front of the home of Justice Minister Yariv Levin in the normally quiet and peaceful central Israeli city of Modi'in. The protesters blocked the entrance to the street with barbed wire fences and tires and carried a sausage-like display titled "From Yariv Levin’s Deli-This is no longer just salami."
Six protesters were arrested in the demonstration, during which a police helicopter was used. After the first arrest, the protestors raised their hands and began to surround the police cars that arrived on the street and even started confrontations with the police. In response, the police used tear gas. The district commander of the police arrived at the scene. Several protesters said following the clashes that this was not what was planned and that it was an escalation of the protest and the police.
An anti-government demonstration this morning in front of Justice Minister Yariv Levin's home in Modiin became violent when protesters burned tires and blocked the street. 6 protesters were arrested, and several were injured by police teargas.
— Israel National News - Arutz Sheva (@ArutzSheva_En) June 27, 2023
📸Ahim Laneshek pic.twitter.com/95Ux15Ir2K
Justice Minister Levin called the protesters this morning a "violent group" and said that "fortunately or miraculously, this time they 'settled' for burning tires on the road, blocking the street and the entrance to the parking lot of the shared building, and did not decide to burn any apartment in the building."
From video and eyewitness accounts, most of the protesters did not come from Modi'in. Despite their claims that the event was a 'spontaneous demonstration', the images of busses lined along the main road a few blocks from Levin's home as well as protesters disembarking and enjoying snacks set up on a table near the busses disproved those claims. The question remains is who paid for the busses and the elaborate spread? The Judean, which is based in Modi'in, interviewed residents in the area who were outraged that tires were being burned and the normal early morning quiet shattered with 'rude and insensitive' actions on the part of those protesting.
One resident pointed out the hypocrisy of the protesters, most of whom are liberals and most likely environmentalists who forsake their own causes to bring anarchy to a peaceful city. "There is a kindergarten over there, there is a nursery school here, and all of these apartments have children living in them. What kind of deranged person would set a toxic fire where bits of engulfed rubber are floating up into apartment windows endangering not just the man they came to protest but a neighborhood of families and little children?"
Hundreds of members of the reservist protest "Brothers in Arms" demonstrated this morning in front of the home of Justice Minister Yariv Levin in Modi'in, blocking his exit from his home. pic.twitter.com/MPU0ykyong
— Josh Drill (@drill_josh) June 27, 2023
The police announced that police officers from the intelligence station, assisted by police officers from the 'Shfela' district, dealt with "an unusual disorder in the city, in which lawbreakers burned a tire in the heart of a residential neighborhood while attempting to block roads and disrupt the routine of life." According to the police, the Central District Commander, Superintendent Avi Biton, "ordered to deal with determination while arresting suspects, removing the hazard from the road and analyzing documentation to identify and arrest others on suspicion of violating public order." The police eventually removed the blockades in the area.
#Israel : Hundreds of protesters against judicial overhaul burn tyres outside Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s home - 6 arrested pic.twitter.com/SHyo6WZKW0
— sebastian usher (@sebusher) June 27, 2023
Minister Levin accused the police of deliberately slow treatment: "A few minutes after the violent rampage began, we heard sirens. There is nothing to be happy about, it was not the police who rushed to act, but the sirens activated by the protesters. We informed the security commissioner on behalf of the Ministry of Justice. He also tried to contact the police, and at 6:11 minutes, that is, 40 minutes after the start of the event, he was forced to write that the police were screening him."
This is what the "spontaneous" and unfunded demonstration looks like this morning in front of Minister Yariv Levin... organized buses and even expensive refreshments. Spontaneous demonstration you are told. Where are all the funds coming from? Who is paying in? Does Israel have… https://t.co/FShvhF72do
— Naftali Hirschl. (@NaftaliHirschl) June 27, 2023
Later, he also accused Attorney General Gali Miara: "It is impossible not to come forward with complaints to the police, but to be honest it is also not fair to blame them for everything. The counselor and the law enforcement system under her turn a blind eye to the violent, not to mention permit the violence, and allow lawlessness to run rampant. Indeed, the most outrageous thing is the selective enforcement."
