Eda Haredit raises money to sue police
Extreme ultra-Orthodox faction allots budget of $20,000 for legal struggle against wave of arrests among faction members
As a start, the faction allotted a budget of $20,000 for the legal struggle, which is aimed at deterring the police from "harassing" its members.
According to an Eda Haredit source, in recent months the police have decided to "hit everyone affiliated with the faction with all their might".
"They arrested Amram Shapira, our leader's assistant, at the direct orders of the senior ranks, if not District Commander Niso Shaham himself. Senior police commanders sat down with him for a chat with no justification, and that is what the Magistrate's Court ruled, not me."
According to the source, the new initiative is their only way to face the police's new strategy. "We can't arrest any policeman in front of his wife and children for an entire day, like they do," the source said.
"Our power will be in deterring the police, so that they know that anyone raising his hand or acting illegally will be dragged into a long trial, at the end of which he will have to apologize and pay damages."
Eda Haredit officials stressed that the money would also be used to hire lawyers for arrested protestors.
