Haredi crowd in Modiin halts arrest of draft deserter, policewoman hurt

Update, 6 October, 13:07 Israel time

A policewoman was injured in the head during the Modiin riot, according to residents' accounts gathered by Ynet, the first report of an injury in the incident. Ynet reported that the hundreds who came to stop the arrest of Yairi Liberman moved from floor to floor, banged on apartment doors and chanted that they would sooner die than enlist. One neighbour called it a pogrom and said her family fled to their protected room. Another resident said officers arrived late and appeared afraid of the crowd. Ynet said the deserter's mother apologised to neighbours in the building's WhatsApp group, and that the city's mayor described the conduct as barbaric.

The Times of Israel reported that the crowd was mobilised through the "Black Color" alert network of the hardline Jerusalem Faction, and that footage showed some protesters getting into the apartment where the man was staying while police tried to keep people out of the building.

The chairman of United Torah Judaism, Yitzhak Goldknopf, condemned the Military Police operation itself. In a statement quoted by The Times of Israel, he called the overnight scenes "shocking and outrageous" and said the persecution of Torah scholars had peaked.

Police and the army have not confirmed the injury reported by Ynet.

The story as first reported

A crowd of ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) men confronted Military Police soldiers in the city of Modiin on Monday night as they tried to detain a man wanted for desertion, and the operation ended without him in custody. According to the Israel Defense Forces spokesperson, the soldiers were carrying out a proactive enforcement action under the Defense Service Law when many people assembled at the scene in what the military described as an organised effort to obstruct the arrest and put the soldiers at risk.

Israel Police officers were called in to restore order and break up the gathering, the IDF said. Ynet reported that crowds forced their way into the building and clashed with police until the security forces withdrew without detaining the man, who was afterwards lifted onto the roof of a car in the street and handed sweets in what the outlet called a ceremony of honour.

What the IDF said

In its statement the military said it "strongly condemns" any attempt to interfere with soldiers or harm them while they carry out lawful duties. The Times of Israel, citing the IDF, reported that the army promised enforcement against deserters and draft dodgers would go on "equally" and within its legal powers. The statement described resistance and disruption of the security forces in the area but did not say whether anyone was hurt or detained, and did not state the outcome of the attempted arrest.

Accounts of how it ended differ

The reports do not agree on exactly what happened inside the building. Commentator Amit Segal wrote that hundreds of Haredim broke into the building and used force to take out a deserter who had already been arrested, and that the soldiers were then extracted with police help while the man celebrated with those who had freed him.

News.co.il reported that the disturbance took place at a residential building, that police tried to gain control, and that they eventually left without arresting the deserter. That version describes no completed arrest.

A second Ynet report said the protesters agreed not to harm the soldiers in exchange for the deserter not being taken, describing negotiations between the crowd and police. Ynet also reported that the army and the police are each blaming the other.

The man at the centre

News.co.il carried excerpts of an interview the young man gave to the Haredi news site Kikar HaShabbat, in which he was named as Yairi Liberman. He said he heard the doorbell at around 12 at night and was told to go into a room because the Military Police had arrived. While he was being allowed to get ready, he said, he managed to phone a group he called Tzeva Shachor ("Black Colour"), and seeing people arrive to support him made him feel he was not alone. Ynet separately reported that he described using that preparation time to summon hundreds of Haredim.

Background for readers outside Israel

Haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, Jews have long been largely exempt from Israel's compulsory military service, with many young men studying in religious seminaries instead. Whether and how to draft them is one of the most contested domestic issues in the country. The Defense Service Law is the statute that sets out conscription obligations; English reports also render its name as the Military Service Law.

The Military Police is the IDF unit responsible for enforcing military law, including tracking down soldiers and conscripts who fail to report. Ynet noted that this was a proactive operation rather than an arrest of someone who happened to come into contact with the authorities, and said it came despite a ruling by the High Court of Justice, which it cited in connection with the absence of arrests. Ynet's reporting also points to friction between the army and the police over who is responsible for carrying out such detentions.

The Times of Israel describes Modiin as a city in central Israel. The Jerusalem Post reported the protest as it broke out late on Monday night.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports gives a precise size for the crowd beyond Segal's and Ynet's references to hundreds. No source reports injuries, arrests of protesters or damage. The IDF statement does not confirm whether the man had been physically detained before the crowd intervened, and the outlets differ on that point. The terms of any arrangement between police and protesters are reported only by Ynet and are not confirmed by the police or the army. The reports do not say what steps, if any, will now be taken to detain the deserter, or how long he had been considered a deserter. A brief police statement is referred to by the Times of Israel, but its content is not included in the material available to us.