Chaos erupted in Yerushalayim on Motzei Shabbos as Shas MK Yoav Ben Tzur was violently attacked by a mob of extremist chareidim while leaving the weekly shiur of Hagaon HaRav Yitzchak Yosef. The rioters targeted the lawmaker over his party’s apparent backing of the coalition’s Chareidi conscription bill.

According to Galei Tzahal reporter Daniel Grovais, a simultaneous protest was also held outside the home of UTJ MK Yaakov Asher, where demonstrators clashed with police.

Witnesses say the pack surrounding Ben Tzur’s car went completely out of control—smashing the windshield, hurling garbage bags, jumping on the vehicle, and ripping off the license plate. Police officers eventually managed to extract Ben Tzur from what onlookers described as an attempted lynching, with claims that he was beaten and had various objects thrown at him.

Shas released a statement condemning the attack, calling it “a severe act of violence carried out by a small group of rioters,” adding that such behavior is a chillul Hashem and “not the way of the Torah.”

Opposition leader Yair Lapid also spoke out, saying the assault “is not the way of the Torah and not the way of the State of Israel,” and calling for the attackers to be dealt with harshly.

Police confirmed the details in an official statement, saying dozens of rioters ambushed an elected official, damaged his vehicle, and threw garbage bags at him. Officers from the Lev HaBira station and Border Police rescued him without injury, though the vehicle sustained damage.

Police added that forces dispersed the attackers, are hunting down suspects, and consider the attack a serious attempt to harm a public official.

More details will be published as they become available.