Rabbi Avraham Idan, the Rosh Yeshivah of the Ateret Halevi Yeshiva in Jerusalem, was violently arrested after he happened to pass by the area where the clashes were taking place near Rechov Chana last week.

In shocking interviews he held with Israeli media channels on Sunday, he described the violence and humiliation he endured at the hands of the police despite the fact that he was not involved in the protests.

“I was driving on Chana–Eli HaKohen Street on the way to buy supplies for my son’s bris,” he said. “There was garbage there, overturned trash bins, and chaos. The police were throwing one stun grenade after another. No one understood what was going on. One officer told me to drive, and another told me to stop.”

He said that that incident began when police officers demanded that he exit his vehicle while he was waiting in the traffic jam. “I intended to open the window, but suddenly I saw a police officer in front of me with a Taser aimed at me.” As he hesitated, the police officers smashed his window, forcibly pulled him from his car, and beat him in front of his son.

“They kicked me in the ribs, the stomach, and the head. They cuffed me and put me into the police vehicle,” he said. “I shouted at them, ‘I’m not resisting. I understand that I’m under arrest; don’t hit me,’ but they simply rained blows on me.”

“Even when I was in the police vehicle, while it was driving, they continued to beat me and curse me. The officer sitting next to me says, ‘You’re worse than the Nukhbas, worse than the terrorists in Gaza. I told him, ‘I’m not an extremist; I have a bachelor’s degree; I did national service.’ And he answers me, “Shut up, dog, you’re all the same.”

Upon arriving at the station, the harsh treatment continued. “There was an Arab sitting next to me. I asked for a cup of water, but they refused to give one to me. The Arab asked for a cup of water, and they gave him one immediately. There was a yeshiva bochur next to me who asked to go to the bathroom, and they told him: ‘You Chareidim need to be killed, one by one.’ I heard a policewoman there say, ‘The Chareidim need to be burned; they’re destroying the country.'”

He said he was interrogated for long hours while injured, without medical treatment and without water, and was released after it became clear that there was no real suspicion against him. “For nothing. Really for nothing. No one apologized; no one said it was a mistake. The investigator told me explicitly: this is no longer because of you. It’s become something personal for the police.”

After his release, Rabbi Idan sought medical treatment for broken ribs and severe pain.

It should be noted that his son’s bris is scheduled to take place on Monday, but he is still under house arrest despite the fact that there is no evidence against him for the police’s claim that he tried to run over police officers.

Rabbi Idan’s sister said in an interview with Kol Chai, “His child is now terrified; he’s suffering from anxiety, sitting at home.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)