Calls for ‘Heavy Hand’ After Demonstrator Violence Leaves Woman in Serious Condition

A 40-year-old woman was hospitalized in serious condition on Thursday night in Yerushalayim during a protest by hundreds of extremists.

The woman was passing by the protest when she was hit by a garbage bin that had been sent rolling by the protesters.

She was lightly injured and sent to the hospital, but during the night, her condition deteriorated and she was listed in serious condition by Friday morning.

The police have opened an investigation into the incident.

The demonstration in the Meah Shearim neighborhood by the extremists erupted in response to the arrest of a man suspected of torching a cell phone store several months ago.

Hundreds of protesters rallied for hours on Thursday night, blocking roads, torching a traffic light and trash cans, and throwing stones at police.

Firefighters put out the blazes, but one of the trash cans struck the woman, causing the injuries. It wasn’t clear if it was on fire when it hit her.

Incoming National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, in a statement released Friday, called for police to use a “heavy hand” against the demonstrators.

“Violence is not freedom of speech, it’s anarchy,” Ben Gvir said. “Anarchists and bad apples need to be treated with a heavy hand.”

“The rioters who almost murdered a woman and harmed police need to go to prison for a very long time,” he said.

The chairman of United Torah Judaism MK Rabbi Yitzchak Goldknopf said: “I strongly condemn the riot of a handful of protesters last night, which resulted in the serious injury of an innocent bystander. Every protest, no matter how important it may be, must be done according to the rules of the law and while maintaining the rules of order. Freedom of expression does not justify violence under any circumstances. I expect the law authorities to capture the offenders and to meet with them the full severity of the law. I pray for her safety and wish her a speedy recovery.”

Chairman of Shas Rabbi Aryeh Deri: “I was shocked to hear about the serious incident on Bar Ilan Street in Yerushalayim, in which demonstrators caused a serious injury to a resident of the city. Violence and rioting is not a protest, but a chillul Hashem and I condemn them wholeheartedly. These rioters who terrorize the residents of Yerushalayim must be arrested as soon as possible and brought to justice.”

Mayor Moshe Lion said: “The shocking injury of the woman on Bar Ilan Street is another escalation in the disgraceful violence of a handful of rioters endangering the city’s residents, causing millions of shekels of damage to public property, time and again.

“I call on the Israel Police and the enforcement and judicial bodies to act firmly against the violent rioters and to use all the severity of the law against them.

“It is important for me to emphasize: these people are not chareidim. This is a group of law-breaking criminals who harm the public.”