Approximately 200 Gerrer Hasidim demonstrated overnight (Tuesday) outside the Tel Aviv home of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
The Gerrer Hasidic movement had initially planned a much larger show of force, with thousands expected to participate. However, following the severe overcrowding and disturbances that erupted earlier during the rally outside Military Prison 10, organizers decided to cancel the event.
Despite the official cancellation, a small group of Hasidim arrived independently at the Attorney General's residence.
The protesters carried signs reading, "We will not abandon a single Torah student" and "Whoever disparages Torah scholars has no share in the World to Come," while chanting protest slogans.
Several physical and verbal confrontations broke out during the demonstration between protesters and passersby.
Physical and verbal confrontations were reported between protesters and passersby during the demonstration. During one of the clashes, IDF reservist Idan Banda was surrounded by a crowd and attacked.
In an interview with Kan Reshet Bet, Banda said that he had not provoked the attack in any way: “I had no idea there was a protest. Several hundred haredim gathered at the corner of the street, and there were also cars blocking the roads. There were secular people in cars who couldn’t move their vehicles. They blocked the attorney general’s street from one end to the other, both on the sidewalks and on the road."
Describing the moments of the alleged attack, he said: “I made my way through them in order to get home, and suddenly I started hearing shouts of ‘dog, dog.’ Then I felt blows hitting me. I felt kicks, hands [hitting me], and suddenly I saw someone kicking my dog. I tried to break free and get out of the crowd, and before I could even process what was happening, I started taking punches and kicks from dozens of people, until two police officers stepped between me and them."
Banda added: “As a reservist who is breaking his back under the burden [of military service] and is angry that they are not taking part, or as a taxpayer who is frustrated by the cost of living because hundreds of thousands of Torah students need to be funded, I suddenly experience this kind of violence outside my own home. It feels like a slap in the face and a loss of security."
The protest outside the attorney general’s home took place after thousands of Gur hasidim gathered earlier at the entrance to Prison 10 to protest the arrest of a draft dodger from the hasidic community. The Gerrer Rebbe also attended the rally, and during the event severe overcrowding and congestion developed, leading to the breaching of the fence surrounding the prison compound.
Following the crowding, the event was halted for an extended period, and United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf called on participants over loudspeakers to move backward in order to prevent a disaster and ensure the safety of those present.