Soldier who confronted Haredim defends her actions
After being recorded hurling expletives at Haredi protesters and spraying tear gas in the air after she saw abuse of a 50-year-old woman, Amit Nazri tells her version of the events; 'That could have been your grandmother.’
A 19-year-old female IDF soldier captured on camera Monday confronting ultra-Orthodox protesters, shouting expletives and spraying pepper spray into the air has published her version of events on Facebook
The soldier, Amit Nazri, who serves in the Home Front Command, was taking the Jerusalem light rail to her base when the train had to stop due to ultra-Orthodox protesters blocking the track.
"When we arrived at the Damascus Gate, three stations before my stop, the driver stopped the train and explained that he could not move forward and that all the passengers had to get off because there was a demonstration blocking the road," she wrote in her post.
"I got off like all the other passengers and walked toward my stop. On the way there I got caught up in the ultra-Orthodox demonstration. I kept going and minded my own business, despite them shouting 'whore in uniform', 'prostitute' and, of course, the old tried-and-true 'Shiksa' (a derogatory term for a non-Jewish woman).
"All that was only because I was passing through there in uniform. I did not pay attention until I saw a woman around the age of 50 surrounded by some 40 Haredim who didn't let her leave, spitting and cursing at her from all sides.
"I did not think twice and just walked into the mob to get her out of there, and the second I entered, I entered a circle of hell. A circle of human animals that absurdly allow themselves to wear yarmulkes (skull caps).
"It is important to note that I myself observe Shabbat and Mitzvot (religious commandments), believe in the Torah and its laws, and encourage Torah schooling. But them? They were the devil incarnate. Torah scholars? I don't think so. Just a bunch of animals!"
Nazri related how "the moment I entered the mob, Haredim from all around me started kicking me, spitting, pulling my hair and whatnot. I did not hesitate for a moment and took out my tear gas, the one I got from the army. The one I'm ordered to carry 24/7. I sprayed in order to get out. As soon as they took a step towards me I sprayed again and then they started filming.
"It's obvious that they'll only film the cursed soldier who sprayed dozens of Haredim. Of course, what I've been through will not be captured because it's not interesting."
Nazri, who can be heard in the video hurling expletives at the mob, accepted that she lost her temper, but refused to apologize.
"My words were horrible, and I'm not proud of what I said at all, but were you there? Did you go through what I went through? Did you experience the humiliation and the pain? No! So do not judge me," she said.
"Looking back, I would have done the same without thinking twice. Because that woman could have been my grandmother, or yours."
For more than a week, the extreme ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem Faction has been protesting against the draft law.
They were sparked by the arrest of two Jerusalem Faction yeshiva students, who returned from the Dead Sea to Jerusalem and were flagged down for a routine check by police. When the officers ran their names, they found they were defectors from the army and arrested them.
154 ultra-Orthodox demonstrators were arrested during last week's demonstrations and most of them have already been released from detention. Among the demonstrators were 45 deserters who were transferred to the military police, and 15 of them were indicted for desertion.
