Unbelievable
"We Are Ready to Die": Jerusalem Faction Rep Defends Violent Protests After Teen is Run Over
He knew what he was doing": Jerusalem Faction rep defends the riots after a teen was run over. "We are ready even for death," he declared in a fiery interview regarding the anti-autopsy protests.
Following the hospitalization of an 18-year-old protester who was struck by a vehicle during turbulent demonstrations on Tuesday, a representative of the hardline "Jerusalem Faction" (Peleg Yerushalmi) doubled down on the group's tactics in a fiery interview, declaring, "We are ready even for death."
The comments were made by Rabbi Chaim Ozer G. during an interview on 'Kikar FM' with host Eli Gotthelf. The conversation took place against the backdrop of fierce riots in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak, sparked by the High Court's decision to approve autopsies for the toddlers who died in the Romema daycare disaster.
When pressed by the interviewer regarding the responsibility of the leadership for the safety of the young protesters, specifically the 18-year-old currently hospitalized in moderate condition, the Rabbi refused to walk back the group's strategy.
"This is not the first time this has happened at protests, and unfortunately, it likely won't be the last," Rabbi G. stated. "If he went out, he apparently knew what he was doing."
When asked if a prison sentence for draft evasion wouldn't be preferable to dying on the roads, the Rabbi replied: "Prison is obviously better than death, and we are ready for both. The reality proves that if you want to stop a process in a Western country, the only way is through demonstrations."
The Rabbi framed the current unrest not merely as a legal dispute over autopsies, but as a fundamental religious war.
"This is a macro story about the war for the belief in the immortality of the soul," he explained. "Even when a baby passes away, it is forbidden to touch his body. This is a struggle between those who went out to protest and those on the other side who want to operate."
Addressing the violence on the roads, the representative claimed that drivers feel immune from consequences when confronting Haredi protesters.
"Drivers know that if they run over a Haredi person, they will be released within a short time," he alleged. "The protesters feel they must stop these vehicles with their bodies."
He concluded with a stark message regarding the faction's broader struggle against military conscription: "The fact that a young man was run over only highlights and illustrates how much we truly mean 'we will die rather than enlist.' We are sad that it happens, but this is a central tool that stops and moves processes."