The Jerusalem Police issued the following announcement about an incident yesterday: "From the roofs of Galitiza [neighborhood] in the Old City of Jerusalem, Jewish boys threw rocks at Arab youths. A police force that was called to the scene requested to locate the Jewish boys and was attacked by them. A policeman was lightly injured. The force detained three young Jews for questioning. At the end of the incident, three policemen were hurt, and two of them were evacuated in light condition to the Sick Fund clinic. Among the suspects detained for questioning was the principal of the yeshiva at the site."
The Jews involved in the incident say that the above announcement is a total lie. "There is barely a word of truth in it," said Rabbi J. of the Zilberman Yeshiva in the Old City. "What happened was this: Arabs living next to us here in the Old City began throwing rocks from their third-floor apartment down on us below. Rav [Rabbi] Y., one of the directors of our yeshiva, happened to be there and called the police. They did not arrive for almost 20 minutes, and finally some of our boys started throwing back. Finally when the police arrived, they came with about 20 men, and in my opinion they came with the idea of beating us up. Before they even saw what was going on, they started beating up kids from the yeshiva, and then they went inside our building and started ruthlessly beating up other people inside. Among them were Rav Y. and Rav C., who was really beaten up very badly. The order to beat up our students and rabbis was given very clearly by Commander Effie Havivian. And the language they used was unbelievable – curses, and even worse; I can't even begin to describe it."
One student, 18-year-old Y. of Ramat Beit Shemesh, said, "The police came with their clubs and began beating us up... Rav C. was beaten up terribly – punched, kicked, dragged – I didn't think he would get out of it alive... One of the policewomen who they say was injured slipped on the floor - and that's what they call injured."
Rav J. said, "It was instigated totally by Effie Havivian – even though he later tried to explain that because one of his men was hit, he had to protect him. What did he mean that one of his men was hit? That in the middle of the beating up, finally one of our students threw something, and it grazed his forehead, and maybe drew a little blood – for that he had to beat us up." Rav C., who was detained in the police station for ten hours, later told the students that he saw this "injured" policemen take the bit of blood from his forehead, spread it around his face, and thus presented his "wounds" to the media.
Rav Y. was detained for three hours. Both he and Rav C. refused to answer any of the police "questions," and were finally released. The three yeshiva students who were detained – one of them was handcuffed and then hit several times, Y. said – were released only early this evening, more than 24 hours later.
The fax number of the Public Security Ministry office in Jerusalem is (+972-2) 530-8039.
The Jews involved in the incident say that the above announcement is a total lie. "There is barely a word of truth in it," said Rabbi J. of the Zilberman Yeshiva in the Old City. "What happened was this: Arabs living next to us here in the Old City began throwing rocks from their third-floor apartment down on us below. Rav [Rabbi] Y., one of the directors of our yeshiva, happened to be there and called the police. They did not arrive for almost 20 minutes, and finally some of our boys started throwing back. Finally when the police arrived, they came with about 20 men, and in my opinion they came with the idea of beating us up. Before they even saw what was going on, they started beating up kids from the yeshiva, and then they went inside our building and started ruthlessly beating up other people inside. Among them were Rav Y. and Rav C., who was really beaten up very badly. The order to beat up our students and rabbis was given very clearly by Commander Effie Havivian. And the language they used was unbelievable – curses, and even worse; I can't even begin to describe it."
One student, 18-year-old Y. of Ramat Beit Shemesh, said, "The police came with their clubs and began beating us up... Rav C. was beaten up terribly – punched, kicked, dragged – I didn't think he would get out of it alive... One of the policewomen who they say was injured slipped on the floor - and that's what they call injured."
Rav J. said, "It was instigated totally by Effie Havivian – even though he later tried to explain that because one of his men was hit, he had to protect him. What did he mean that one of his men was hit? That in the middle of the beating up, finally one of our students threw something, and it grazed his forehead, and maybe drew a little blood – for that he had to beat us up." Rav C., who was detained in the police station for ten hours, later told the students that he saw this "injured" policemen take the bit of blood from his forehead, spread it around his face, and thus presented his "wounds" to the media.
Rav Y. was detained for three hours. Both he and Rav C. refused to answer any of the police "questions," and were finally released. The three yeshiva students who were detained – one of them was handcuffed and then hit several times, Y. said – were released only early this evening, more than 24 hours later.
The fax number of the Public Security Ministry office in Jerusalem is (+972-2) 530-8039.