A police commander in the ultra-Orthodox city of Modiin Illit made an offer this week to an influential individual within the extremist Jerusalem Faction group that the police would ignore mass prayer indoors as long as the congregation pretended to disperse.
The revelation comes following allegations against the Jerusalem police that similar deals had been struck with extremist hassidic communities in Mea Shearim during the course of the recent holiday season.
In recordings obtained by Channel 12 News, the commander can be heard in a recorded telephone conversation with the Jerusalem Faction official, complaining that his community had not cooperated properly during an incident on Wednesday which led to a severe confrontation with the police.
The police were alerted to the mass prayer event by residents of the city, and after the congregants failed to disperse the police sought to forcibly disperse them, leading to violent clashes in which four police officers were injured as a result of stone throwing and fireworks, and seven rioters arrested.
In a subsequent phone conversation, the commander complained to the Jerusalem Faction official that if they had only dispersed when asked they could have returned after the police left and would not have been bothered.
The commander explained that if someone complains about possible health regulation violations he has to dispatch a patrol vehicle.
“If a police patrol vehicle turns, come, no problem, you don’t want to listen to the policeman? You don’t want to cooperate? That’s ok, I didn’t request that. I just ask when the policeman comes go outside,” said the commander.
Referring to Wednesday night’s confrontation he said that “It would have ended in a moment without fines or anything, another minute the policeman would have gone,” if the congregation would have just left the synagogue for several minutes.
“The moment they would have listened to the policeman, the instruction… the moment they would have dispersed we wouldn’t interfere with the synagogue.
“Afterwards you can do… You can understand between the words what I’m saying,” said the police officer.
The police said in response that the conversation was part of an effort to explain the situation and prevent further incidents, and added that the commander had said explicitly that it was prohibited to pray inside a synagogue at present, in accordance with Health Ministry regulations.
“The police carries out enforcement operations every day against synagogues around the county and gives out fines,” the statement said.