Yosef Meir Hazan, a member of the Sikrikim (Sicarii) extremist ultra-Orthodox
group, was arrested this week in the capital’s Geula neighborhood as part of a
special operation by the Jerusalem Police.
According to police spokesman
Micky Rosenfeld, Hazan was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of causing public
disturbances, damaging property and assaulting a police officer attempting to
arrest him.
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police representative requested a six-day extension of Hazan’s remand; however,
the court granted an extension until “the end of the week.” He is expected to be
released on Friday afternoon.
On Tuesday, a video was posted to YouTube
showing Hazan directing various demonstrations and violent activities against
the Or Hahayim bookstore in Jerusalem’s Mea She’arim neighborhood and the Batei
Varsha complex in Geula, the focus of a violent struggle between the Sikrikim
and the neighborhood’s Gur Hassidim.
Hazan’s arrest appears to have been
related to these incidents. The footage apparently shows him damaging the door
to a store and engaging in violent activity against Batei Varsha.
The
clip also shows him dancing at a wedding with a Palestinian flag.
The
video was posted with a commentary in subtitles, as well as an explanation
stating that the footage showed “the actions of the Sikrik Yosef Meir Hazan, the
representative of Shalom Baruch Rost and Avraham Hirschman [two of the leaders
of the Sikrikim group] who are imposing terror in the neighborhood against Batei
Varsha.”