The police were well-protected, outfitted with proper gear and equipment to disperse a crowd, if necessary.They began by surrounding a building on Aharonovich Street in Bnei Brak.The Thursday assault on the vehicle occurred when police entered the city to enforce coronavirus restrictions on King Solomon Street, about 2 km. away from Ahoronovich Street.The residents protesting the police were ultra-Orthodox extremists belonging to the Vizhnitz Hassidic dynasty. The protesters numbered in the dozens.As the crowd surrounded the vehicle, rioters were heard shouting "Nazis" and "damned," while bashing and eventually smashing the police vehicle's windows using stones.שוטרים מותקפים בלב בני ברק על ידי נערים מחסידות ויז'ניץ מנדלה הקיצונית.אקס טריטוריה בלב הארץ pic.twitter.com/GXmknB51nd
— אהרן רבינוביץ (@AronRabino1) January 21, 2021
On Saturday, the grand rabbi of the Vizhnitz Hassidic community, Rabbi Yisroel Hager, gave instructions to reopen schools despite the ongoing lockdown and nationwide school closure.Late Saturday night, Hager clarified that "It is imperative to follow the health guidelines due to the highly contagious virus." He added that people should get vaccinated, Israeli media reported.However, Hager did not rescind his announcement to reopen schools, despite the lockdown. "The words of the grand rabbi come to express his pain, that other institutions are categorized as essential, and have continued their activities, while institutions committed to teaching Torah have been forced to close."One police officer was lightly injured as a result of Thursday's attack.The incident was condemned by many politicians, including ultra-Orthodox MKs who called on extremist factions in the ultra-Orthodox community to stop the violence and cooperate with the police efforts in enforcing lockdown restrictions.Tobias Siegal and Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.ואלו תמונות מהערב בבני ברק. קיצוניים תוקפים רכב משטרה אזרחי ברחוב שלמה המלך. אתמול נפצעו שני שוטרים מאבנים, במקרה הזה עדיין לא יצא עדכון למצבם והאם יש עצורים. זה כמובן לא מייצג את כולם אבל יש אסקלציה באירועים ואלה התמונות החמורות מהערב בכל מקרהאין לי קרדיט לוידאו, אשמח לתת pic.twitter.com/CCWWkxIFun
— Bar Peleg (@bar_peleg) January 21, 2021