Military Police Accused of Choking Chosson on Way to Sheva Brachos, Leaving Kallah Fearing Kidnapping
A formal complaint demanding a criminal investigation has been filed against Israeli military police officers accused of violently arresting the newly married chosson, Yaari Lieberman, as he and his wife were traveling to a sheva brachos celebration. The complaint alleges that masked officers dressed in civilian clothing choked Lieberman, failed to identify themselves, and seized his wife’s cellphone, leaving the frightened kallah believing her husband had been kidnapped.
The complaint was submitted by the organization Emes L’Yaakov B’Yisroel through attorney Nosson Rosenblatt, who is demanding that military investigators examine the conduct of every officer involved in the arrest and determine whether criminal offenses were committed.
Lieberman was arrested Sunday after stepping off a bus with his wife. The arrest was carried out by military police officers wearing civilian clothing. He was subsequently sentenced to 20 days in military detention but was released the following day after intervention on his behalf.
According to the complaint, the officers arrived at the scene in three vehicles, wearing masks and civilian clothing. The organization alleges that they immediately descended on Lieberman and forcibly restrained him, including grabbing him by the neck and choking him.
The complaint further alleges that the officers did not present an arrest warrant, explain the reason for taking Lieberman into custody, or inform him of his rights.
Of particular concern, according to the organization, was the officers’ alleged failure to identify themselves as members of the military police.
Lieberman’s wife, who had been traveling with him to their sheva brachos, reportedly had no way of knowing that the masked men confronting her husband were law enforcement personnel. Fearing that she was witnessing a kidnapping, she contacted the Israel Police to report what had happened.
The organization also alleges that the officers confiscated the kallah’s cellphone during the incident and left her at the scene without her husband.
The complaint also calls for an investigation into suspicions that military authorities used cellphone-location tracking to identify Lieberman’s whereabouts before the arrest. The organization wants investigators to determine whether such surveillance was conducted and, if so, whether the necessary judicial authorization had been obtained.
Additional allegations concern Lieberman’s treatment after he was taken into military custody. According to the complaint, officers mocked him, and personnel at the detention facility refused to provide him with a blanket or adequate heating despite his requests.
The kallah’s mother previously described the ordeal in an emotional radio interview, saying the officers had choked her son-in-law, forced him to the ground, and placed him in a vehicle. She said her daughter was trembling and crying for hours following the incident.
Lieberman, a talmid of Yeshivas Ohr Hachaim headed by Rav Reuven Elbaz, had already been the subject of an attempted military police arrest on October 6 at his parents’ home in Modi’in. That operation ended without his detention after hundreds of protesters gathered and confronted security forces.
His arrest on Sunday sparked widespread condemnation from chareidi political leaders. United Torah Judaism chairman MK Yaakov Asher contacted Defense Minister Yisrael Katz demanding his immediate release, while Shas called upon Knesset members to join an appeal on his behalf.
The latest complaint was sent to military investigative authorities, the IDF Personnel Directorate, and the Soldiers’ Complaints Commissioner. Emes L’Yaakov B’Yisroel is demanding a comprehensive examination of the arrest, the alleged use of excessive force, the treatment of Lieberman and his wife, and the conduct of personnel at the detention facility.
The organization is seeking criminal proceedings against any officers found to have violated the law. The allegations have not yet been established by an official investigation.
