Dozens of Haredi extremists rioted outside a school in Beit Shemesh while the Jerusalem suburb’s female mayor was touring the building on Tuesday night.
The rioters hurled objects at the building, started a fire and vandalized Mayor Aliza Bloch’s vehicle, effectively holding her hostage inside for nearly two hours.
Police were dispatched to the scene in order to safely extract Bloch from the premises.
Bloch had been touring the new building, which will serve as a school for members of Beit Shemesh’s Viznitz Haredi sect.
The incident came days after Haredi extremists vandalized a campaign placard with Bloch’s face on it — conduct that female politicians have long endured in ultra-Orthodox towns and neighborhoods.
Tuesday’s riot was condemned by Shas Interior Minister Moshe Arbel who called on law enforcement to bring those responsible to justice.
עשרות חרדים הבעירו פחים ותקפו את רכבה של עליזה בלוך, ראש עיריית בית שמש, לאחר שהגיעה לאירוע חנוכת תלמוד תורה בעיר. שמשות רכבה נופצו והגלגלים נוקבו. לאחר כשעה, המשטרה חילצה את ראש העיר בכוחות מתוגברים, וללא נפגעים@HGoldich pic.twitter.com/tHw7HmFQSU
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) August 29, 2023
No arrests were made.
Bloch became Beit Shemesh’s first female mayor in 2018 and is running for reelection in increasingly Haredi town in October.