Arik Ascherman
Arik AschermanYehuda Sharabany

Left-wing activist and former head of "Rabbis for Human Rights," Arik Ascherman, was detained overnight by the police last Thursday after refusing to agree to the terms of a police-sanctioned restraining order against him.

Ascherman was issued a 15-day restraining order following an altercation with Jewish residents of the Malachei Hashalom farm located in the Jordan Valley, in which Ascherman grabbed the reigns of a resident's horse and prevented him from moving.

Ascherman along with members of the far-left Ta'ayush organization frequently travel to Malachei Hashalom to obstruct the activities of the Jewish residents who they accuse of stealing land. Ascherman and members of Ta'ayush also regularly film IDF soldiers who are present in the area.

The former head of "Rabbis for Human Rights" was represented in court by controversial attorneys Gaby Lasky and Lea Tsemel, the latter known for her defense of terrorists with blood on their hands.

Tsemel most recently defended Arafat Arafiah who murdered and raped 19-year-old Ori Ansbacher in February 2019. She also defended Abdel Aziz Salha, who took part in the 2000 lynching of two IDF soldiers in Ramallah and was pictured in the infamous photograph waving his blood-soaked hands after the lynching.

The judge ordered Ascherman to stay 100 meters away from the farm, and 20 meters away from the resident who he obstructed.

The Zionist watchdog organization Im Tirtzu, which has been filming the activities of Ascherman and other far-left activists and uploading the videos to social media, welcomed the court's desicion.

"Ascherman and his radical friends from Ta'ayush are provocateurs who come to incite hatred against the resident of Judea & Samaria," said Im Tirtzu. "What's worse, they film and harass IDF soldiers and disrupt their work, endangering the lives of the soldiers and the residents."

"We will continue working to film these radical filmers and prevent them from harming Israel."