In a significant step toward ensuring equal enforcement of protest-related laws across all sectors of Israeli society, the Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved a bill on Wednesday aimed at eliminating selective law enforcement against certain populations, including the chareidi community.
The proposed legislation, sponsored by MK Moshe Roth, is designed to establish a clear and equal standard of enforcement for public protests, regardless of the protesters’ background. It seeks to enshrine the principle that the basic right to demonstrate must be upheld fairly for all citizens.
“There is nothing more corrosive to a society than when its citizens feel they are being treated unequally,” the bill states, citing a 1987 Supreme Court ruling. “The feeling of inequality is one of the most damaging. It undermines the forces that unite society and harms an individual’s sense of identity.”
The proposal comes against a backdrop of years-long claims of systemic bias by law enforcement authorities—especially the police, state prosecution, and attorney general’s office—toward certain communities. These include chareidim, residents of the yishuvim (settlements), and members of the Ethiopian-Israeli community.
One case cited in the bill is a February 2025 ruling by Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court Judge Avital Mold, who dismissed charges against a chareidi minor due to what she called “selective enforcement.” The judge noted that similar charges were not brought against non-chareidi youth involved in passive protests.
The bill further claims that protests involving visibly chareidi demonstrators were met with harsher police tactics—such as water cannons laced with foul-smelling “skunk” liquid—while protests on Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv, despite road blockages and violent behavior, did not face the same response.
MK Roth’s bill affirms that all protestors must be treated equally, including in matters such as road blockages, demonstrations near the homes of public officials, the use of crowd control tools, and decisions involving detentions, investigations, arrests, or indictments for disorderly conduct.
To enhance transparency and oversight, the proposal requires law enforcement agencies to report twice a year to the Knesset’s National Security Committee. These reports must include detailed statistics on investigations, arrests, case closures, and indictments related to protests—broken down by demographic group and protest location.
Additionally, the attorney general will be obligated to appear before the committee annually to report on enforcement policies related to protests and to answer lawmakers’ questions.
“This bill sets a fundamental principle: the right to protest belongs equally to everyone, and law enforcement must act accordingly,” said MK Roth. “The law will require regular reporting to the Knesset and allow for real oversight. Selective enforcement is an injustice that must be eliminated.”
{Matzav.com}