Haredim attack secular protester
Photo: Yoni Krotenberg
Shabbat wars in Jerusalem: Haredim attack secular protester
As group of secular protesters hold counter-demonstration against Haredi disruptions of businesses working on Saturday, 'Four ultra-Orthodox men jumped me. I could see the hatred in their eyes,' says attack victim Yosef Sabag.
Ultra-Orthodox protesters attacked secular protesters in Jerusalem on Saturday during demonstrations against businesses operating on Shabbat in the capital, which are held regularly.
A group of teenagers joined this week's protest, which began on Saturday afternoon at the Mahane Yehuda Market with about 100 protesters. They later made their way on HaNevi'im Street towards the Ministry of Education building, growing to some 200 protesters.
During the demonstration, protesters disrupted the operations of a taxi station working on weekends and other businesses opened on Shabbat.
צילום: יוני קרוטנברג
A small group of some 20 secular protesters held a counter-demonstration against what they say is religious coercion, demanding to live their lives in Jerusalem without the Haredim's disruptions.
Police forces tried to separate the two camps, who were protesting on opposite sides of the street.
Haredi demonstrators attack a seuclar protester in Jerusalem (Photo: Yoni Krotenberg)
Yosef Sabag, 20, a former ultra-Orthodox man who demonstrated against the Haredi protesters, was then attacked by some of the Haredi demonstrators.
"I was hit with fists in my stomach and my face, but I didn't swear at them, I didn't talk to them at all," he said. "Four guys jumped me. I could see the hatred in their eyes. One of them jumped me and the other beat me up. It was because I played music on a speaker and filmed."
Despite this, Sabag said he will "continue to protest. We're allowed to, and so are they—but not with violence. I'm on my way to file a complaint with the police."
Yoni Krotenberg, who filmed the assault on Sabag, recounted the incident to Ynet: "Just as we were wrapping up and getting ready to disperse our demonstration, they started chasing us all of a sudden. They attacked him, beat him up."
