The commander of the Dan District, Chief Superintendent Elad Klein, said police responded with unusually strong force during this week’s unrest in Bnei Brak, explaining that officers acted decisively after what he described as a lack of coordination with the military that led to the violent escalation.
In an interview with Kan News, Klein detailed the chain of events from the police perspective following clashes in the city’s streets and the subsequent exchange of accusations between Israel Police and the IDF. The dispute centers on whether there had been prior coordination before female soldiers entered the city to conduct outreach activities with potential recruits.
“When you are not updated about such an incident and you receive it from zero to one hundred, you first deploy whatever forces you have on the ground,” Klein said, describing the rapid response once the situation became known to police.
According to Klein, officers had to act quickly to extract the soldiers from the scene. “The rescue operation led to the torching of a scooter and the overturning of a patrol car. We concentrated all available forces and entered with very strong force, even disproportionate, in order to respond decisively.”
Klein pushed back against criticism attributed to the IDF chief of staff, who reportedly said that a situation in which soldiers cannot move freely anywhere in the country is unacceptable. “They are trying to portray it as though special approval is required to enter Bnei Brak. That is not the case,” Klein said. “Hundreds of soldiers in uniform walk around here daily. They sit in restaurants and eat in the city without any problem. Just last week I was sitting in a restaurant alongside soldiers and police officers in uniform.”
At the same time, Klein acknowledged a distinction between routine presence and organized outreach activity in sensitive neighborhoods. While the military described the visit as a “home visit” to potential recruits, police maintain it involved the distribution of flyers in the heart of areas identified with extremist factions.
Concluding his remarks, Klein addressed what he described as the broader context behind the outbreak of violence. “Let’s not be naive. You cannot disconnect this incident from the context of the draft law,” he said. According to Klein, entering what he called a stronghold of extremist groups in the city prompted what, from their perspective, was a predictable reaction. “From their standpoint, it is seen as a legitimate response to the struggle they are waging.”
{Matzav.com}
A heated confrontation erupted Tuesday morning during a Knesset Finance Committee meeting, as Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich clashed with Arab MK Iman Khatib-Yassin over rising crime in Arab communities. The exchange came amid broader tensions in the committee, with additional sparring between Smotrich and opposition lawmakers.
The debate, which focused on budget allocations and government policy, turned sharply contentious when Khatib-Yassin criticized the government’s handling of escalating violence in Arab society. In response, Smotrich fired back with a remark that quickly drew attention: “Are we to blame that you’re killing each other?”
Earlier in the session, Smotrich was also involved in a pointed exchange with former Finance Committee chairman Moshe Gafni. During their back-and-forth, the minister told Gafni, “You’re in the opposition — I have a feeling you’re going to remain in the opposition for years to come.”
Gafni responded in kind, as tensions in the committee room continued to rise and the discussion grew increasingly combative.
Opposition MK Naor Shiri later joined the fray, directing his comments toward Gafni and referencing coalition agreements. “Let me remind you that according to the coalition agreements, he’s not even supposed to be serving as finance minister.”
{Matzav.com}
Police arrested five people overnight, including four minors, on suspicion of throwing objects and stones at members of the Vizhnitzer center on King Shlomo Street in Bnei Brak in incidents authorities say posed a real danger to lives.
According to a police statement, officers from the Bnei Brak–Ramat Gan station, assisted by riot police and Border Police units, were deployed across the city following a series of disturbances. During operations in the area, officers identified several suspects allegedly hurling objects at members of the Chassidishe community.
Police moved in swiftly and detained five suspects — ages 13, 16, 17, 18, and 31 — all residents of Bnei Brak. The suspects were taken in for questioning at the local police station and are expected to be brought before a court later today for a hearing.
Law enforcement officials described the incident as part of repeated attempts by various groups to disrupt public order in the city. Police emphasized that they will continue to act decisively against any outbreak of violence.
Authorities also noted that members of the Vizhnitzer kehillah exercised restraint during the incident and complied with instructions from security forces on the scene, conduct that police said helped prevent further escalation.
As reported last night, dozens of fringe youths clashed for hours with police forces on Rechov Ezra in the city. During the unrest, fires were set, drivers were assaulted, and major traffic arteries experienced heavy congestion.
The disturbances began in the early afternoon as a protest near the Vizhnitzer Bais Medrash but quickly spiraled out of control. As the afternoon and evening progressed, dozens more youths arrived at the scene, and the protest evolved into a prolonged riot that included the burning of garbage bins, road blockages, and confrontations with police.
{Matzav.com}NBA superstar LeBron James drew sharp criticism online after speaking favorably about Israeli basketball player Deni Avdija and offering warm remarks about Israel during media availability ahead of Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game in Inglewood, California.
When approached by an Israeli reporter before the game and asked about Avdija, James responded enthusiastically about the forward’s performance. “I said I believe he was an All-Star. He’s playing exceptional basketball. So that’s that.”
James then broadened his comments to address fans in Israel. “If I have fans over there – I’ve never been there – I hope you’ve been following my career. I hope I inspire people over there to not only want to be great at sports but be better in general in life. Hopefully someday I could make it over there. Like I said, I’ve never been over there, but I heard nothing but great things.”
The remarks quickly spread across social media platforms, where they were met with harsh reactions from critics. British-American commentator Mehdi Hasan condemned the statements, writing, “What a disgrace LeBron is,” as he shared a post from Al Jazeera journalist Laila Al-Arian that read, “The entire human rights community: Israel is an apartheid state committing genocide and ethnic cleansing. LeBron James: ‘I’ve heard great things about Israel.’”
American online personality Hasan Piker also attacked James, posting, “He said hope I inspire Israel to be great (at killing children). My goat is WASHED.” Other users accused the NBA star of ignoring “Palestinian Arab suffering” and argued that praising Israel in the midst of the ongoing conflict was inappropriate.
James has not publicly addressed the criticism as of this writing.
Avdija, meanwhile, marked a milestone on Sunday by becoming the first Israeli player to appear in an NBA All-Star Game.
Now in his sixth NBA season and second with the Portland Trail Blazers, Avdija entered the league as the ninth overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards. He spent four seasons in Washington before being dealt to Portland ahead of the 2024–25 campaign.
{Matzav.com}The Lod Central District Court on Tuesday reversed a lower court’s decision in the case of Tzachi Braverman, chief of staff to the prime minister and Israel’s ambassador-designate to the United Kingdom, siding with police and restoring a series of restrictions against him.
Judge Michael Kershen of the District Court ruled in favor of the police appeal, reimposing the limitations that had previously been lifted. These include a prohibition on leaving the country, suspension from his position at the Prime Minister’s Office, and a ban on communicating with a wide range of officials connected to the office.
In explaining his decision, Kershen said that after examining the investigative materials, he concluded that the level of reasonable suspicion against Braverman had increased. He wrote that this conclusion should already have been reached when the matter was first considered by the Magistrate’s Court, and that in the days since that ruling, the suspicions had only deepened.
Kershen also criticized the earlier decision by Magistrate’s Court President Menachem Mizrahi, rejecting the notion that concerns about obstruction were merely theoretical. He stated that the danger of interference with the investigation was significant. The judge cautioned that permitting Braverman to remain overseas—particularly in the capacity of ambassador to the United Kingdom—given his knowledge of internal government systems, could severely undermine the ongoing probe.
The District Court further noted that giving advance notice to a suspect before questioning may open the door to potential interference. Kershen wrote that the risk of such actions at a sensitive stage of the investigation could not be dismissed.
In their appeal, police maintained that the actions attributed to Braverman, as well as the circumstances surrounding them, required his removal from both the Prime Minister’s Office and the Kirya. They argued that fears of obstruction are central to the case and justify the restrictive measures now reinstated by the court.
