Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch
Photo: Roee Idan
Commander Niso Shaham
Photo: Roi Simyoni
'Posters depicting police commander as Hitler appalling'
Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch outraged by online posters of Jerusalem District Police commander in Nazi uniform
Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch expressed his shock Tuesday over the release of images depicting Jerusalem District Police Commander Niso Shaham as Adolf Hitler.
The posters were published online on Monday by unknown users, presumably as part of the haredi protest over what some religious elements called the "community's persecution."
Aharonovitch said that the police have several leads in the investigation and vowed that the perpetrator would be caught: "It's inconceivable that such heinous acts would be carried out in the Jewish state."
'Freshly imported from Berlin' (Screenshot)
One of the posters depicts Shaham wearing a Nazi uniform with a caption reading "Freshly imported from Berlin" and "Adolf Niso Shaham is a murderer." Additional text expressed hope that Shaham meet the same fate as Hitler.
A second poster used what by now has became an iconic image of a haredi boy with a yellow star, meshed with a picture of a Jewish boy taken during the Holocaust, with a caption reading "In those days, in this time: European Jews under Nazi occupation in 1940 – Jerusalem Jews under the tyrant Shaham's occupation in 2012."
Aharonovitch stated that "We will not abide such despicable behavior towards any member on the Israel Police. I am appalled by this use of the Holocaust. The police will not rest until the perpetrators are caught."
'In those days, in this time' (Screenshot)
A statement by the Jerusalem District Police confirmed that an investigation in to the matter was ongoing.
As far as the police know the posters had limited online release and it is unknown whether actual copies were printed or distributed.
A source within the Eda Haredit also expressed their aversion of the posters: "We have a lot to say about Shaham who just like his predecessor is conducting himself in Meah Shearim like a bull in a china shop.
"The statement made by the boy and the yellow star was meant to express that we feel like second and third-rate citizens, but we made sure not to target anyone specifically. We have no idea who's behind this," the source said.
Another member of the Eda Haredit ventured the posters were the handiwork of "external provocateurs."
Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino has tasked the National Crimes Unit with the investigation.
Omri Efraim contributed to this report
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