IDF female Soldier Abused by Mob of Chareidim in Beit Shemesh Speaks Out

We blogged about this disgusting episode last week, but it has now made national news.

 A female IDF soldier was attacked with curses and stones in the Yehuda Hanasi neighborhood in Beit Shemesh.

In a conversation with Kan News, the soldier recounted the moments of horror in the incident that happened on Wednesday. "I was standing at the station, before the bus arrived there were some haredim who cursed and threatened me. When the bus arrived they threatened the driver that they would burn his bus if he took me on," she said.

The soldier, who stopped to change bus lines on her way to her base, told journalist Carmela Menashe how the incident soon developed into a violent riot, when a mob chased her, cursed her and threw things at her: "I moved away and started walking, and they chased me. Suddenly, hundreds of children, boys and adults started coming out of the houses, shouting at me 'shiksa' and throwing stones and cans at me. I felt surrounded and helpless."

At one point she met three girls and begged them to help her escape: "I asked three girls I saw there to help me and they told me we'll hide you." The girls led her to their home where they hid her when the crowd was closing in on the house and trying to break the lock of the apartment. The soldier called the police and after a while the police arrived in an undercover car, and not in a police car, for fear of another flare-up and the fear of the family that was guarding her that they might be thought of as collaborators

The soldier was dressed in a skirt given to her by the girls of the house and taken out of the place, but even after that, the disturbances and the confrontations with the police continued for some time. "The crowds stood outside and the police made a way. While leaving, the haredim snatched the policeman's radio and threw it to the crowd standing outside. It was shocking. The whole incident lasted from ten o'clock at night until early morning," said the soldier, who was injured by the objects thrown at her. "If it wasn't for the family that hid me, I don't know how it would have ended," she said.

The police said: "The police were called to the scene and rescued the female soldier while the force was also under attack. Beit Shemesh police officers arrested two suspects red-handed who were throwing stones. The investigation to locate all those involved continues.'

The spokeswoman of the Beit Shemesh municipality said: 

"Mayor Dr. Aliza strongly condemns the attack on the female soldier and views the case very seriously. "The mayor spoke with the female soldier personally and strengthened her. She also spoke with the police chief of Beit Shemesh and asked, as expected, to investigate the incident to the end and to act with the full extent of the law. The mayor of Beit Shemesh, Dr. Aliza Bloch, emphasizes that on the days of 'you shall be joyous on your holidays', when tens of thousands celebrate at the cultural events in the city, this unusual event is certainly not evidenced by the atmosphere in the city and calls on everyone not to give space in the conversation to extreme acts."