Overview
- Dozens of ultra-Orthodox extremists surrounded Yoav Ben‑Tzur’s vehicle after a Torah lecture in Jerusalem, smashing windows and throwing garbage before officers evacuated him.
- Police said the MK was not injured and labeled the assault a serious attempt to harm a public official, while his office and some witnesses claimed he was beaten.
- Hours later, demonstrators massed outside UTJ MK Yaakov Asher’s home in Bnei Brak, with police and Border Police units on scene as tensions flared.
- Shas denounced the violence as a desecration of God’s name, and Boaz Bismuth, Yair Lapid, Avigdor Liberman, and Gadi Eizenkot issued sharp condemnations and called for arrests.
- Against the backdrop of intensified enforcement after blanket exemptions ended, Shas leader Aryeh Deri reportedly declined a Knesset offer of personal security.