Israeli police have suspended an officer caught on video kicking a Haredi protester during a 'Jerusalem Faction' blockade of Highway 4 Wednesday evening. Police Commissioner said the force "will not hesitate to deal severely" with misconduct, as the protest against the arrest of draft evaders continues.
At 21:21 Wednesday evening, Police Commissioner Danny Levi confirmed—in a statement relayed by N12's Amit Segal—that an officer filmed kicking a Haredi protester on Highway 4 has been suspended from operational duty, with additional commanders and officers facing potential suspension if they are found to have violated protocol. This announcement, the first formal police acknowledgment of misconduct tied to Wednesday's protests, follows hours of standoffs at the Givat Shmuel interchange and brings the thread's earlier unconfirmed reports into an official frame.
The desk first reported on the use of significant force at the same location earlier Wednesday at 11:14, when police cleared a blockade using stun grenades and physical removal. By 16:35, N12's Amit Segal had accused police of selectively enforcing road-blocking laws against the Jerusalem Faction while normalizing similar behavior by other groups, a critique echoed by journalist Yishai Cohen at 10:01. The suspension announcement at 21:21 thus marks a shift: what began as scene-level reporting on police tactics has escalated into an institutional response by the commissioner himself.
The broader protest wave—against the arrest of military draft evaders from the Haredi community—has been documented by The Zioneer over the past week: on Mon Jun 15 at 03:03, activists in Ashdod blocked Highway 4 and forced police to release a deserter; on Tue Jun 9 at 13:30, a road was blocked in Jerusalem over a draft-dodger arrest report. Commentators Yotam Zamir and Yishai Cohen have framed the police response as inconsistent with force used during previous protest movements, a point noted in our coverage from Thu Jun 11.
What remains open: whether the suspended officer will face a criminal investigation or only an internal disciplinary hearing, and whether the commissioner's pledge to suspend additional commanders will materialize as the probe proceeds. No formal investigation mechanism has been announced beyond the suspension itself.
5 developments
- DevelopingTel Aviv district police chief suspends officer who kicked protester
- DevelopingAvi Moskov names officer suspended after Haredi protest controversy
- StrongDrivers lose patience, attack Haredi protesters on Highway 4
- StrongJournalist Yishai Cohen accuses police of selective, violent enforcement against Haredi protesters
Source and signal
- Internal intake