Four Israeli Police officers were filmed in Jerusalem yesterday, Wednesday May 22, 2019, beating and arresting an autistic religious Jewish boy, as bystanders pleaded with them to stop, telling them he was mentally disabled.
In the video, the officers are seen brutally beating the boy, forcing him to ground and then arresting him, his face covered in blood as he cries: "Mommy, I want to go home." The video was distributed on social media, leading to shock, horror and sharp criticism of the conduct of the police.
The boy, Yanky Rosenberg, is a student of the Siach Sod school for mentally disabled children. The incident took place in the Mekor Baruch neighborhood of Jerusalem.
Journalist Avi Mimran, whose son suffers from a mental disability and who himself became a noted lecturer on the subject, wrote on Twitter: “According to eyewitnesses, there was no demonstration at the site, only a minor disturbance of children in front of police officers dismantling a bonfire .... The terrible thing about the story is that dozens of civilians shout to the police that the boy is mentally handicapped ... and they did not stop for a second. Look at his face."
Haaretz journalist Aharon Rabinovitch added: "It is unbelievable that the poor boy's only crime was that he "touched" the policewoman. He did not attack or act violently, according to the policewoman herself. But most of all, you'll see the policemen's opacity, the arrogance, the zero listening and understanding of a situation."
The Israeli Police responded with a statement: "During the police action yesterday to enforce a ban on bonfires that could endanger lives, in the Mekor Baruch neighborhood of Jerusalem, the police encountered violence by dozens of rioters, including throwing stones, objects and attacking policemen. A preliminary investigation of the incident revealed that during the course of the activity a young man attacked one of the policewomen, and during the arrest the suspect objected, rioted, and was wounded in the face. However, the circumstances of the incident are being thoroughly investigated."
However, additional footage of the horrific incident subsequently surfaced, taken by a woman from the balcony of her house, from which it is clear that there was no violence on the part of the boy or anyone else present.
Today everyone is outraged because the victim was a disabled child, but actually this type of violence against unarmed, non-violent members of the anti-Zionist community happens often, while the media is silent.
As Yaron Kedoshim, director of a hostel for disabled children, wrote, “The daily incitement against Haredim causes police in certain cities to act as they please. The fear of the "black crowd" around them makes them anxious and more violent. And it was a fact that none of the many spectators there had attacked, only called out aloud what the poor boy was choking in his throat: “Leave him alone. He is sick. He is mentally limited.” You listen to the recording and do not believe it. "Did you see how he touched me?" said the well-armed policewoman. “Touched” - not attacked. Not beat. “Touched”. And that justified everything.
Another eyewitness pointed out that the policewoman was not wearing a uniform at the time, and the autistic boy, who just happened to be passing by, shouted at her, but did not touch her at all.