A Jerusalem court ruled on a settlement on Thursday between the State of Israel and religious activists who were arrested and detained by the police for their intention to protest the LGBT parade in Jerusalem last year. According to the settlement, the State will compensate the protestors NIS 50.000 ($16,000) for false arrest reports 0404.

The event was downgraded from a march to a stationary rally in 2020 due to corona restrictions. The event took place at Independence Park in Jerusalem. When activists from the anti-assimilation group Lehava made their way to protest the event, they were detained in the police station for several hours.

One of the plaintiffs was Moshe Ben-Zikri who was arrested as soon as the event began. the police asked the court to extend his remand. The court dismissed the police’s request and ordered his immediate release. The police then appealed to a higher court who also rejected their request forcing his release. But soon after his release, the police again arrested Ben-Zikri despite the fact that the court ordered his release.

The defense attorney Hanamel Dorfman said in response to the verdict: “I’m happy that the State acknowledged that they need to compensate the plaintiffs. The police must internalize that the freedom to protest and freedom of speech are basic rights in a democratic state and are not only extended to (anti-Netanyahu protestors) in Balfour exclusively but also to right-wing activists that ask to protest against the pride parade.”

MK Itamar Ben Gvir also reacted to the settlement saying: “The pride parade in Jerusalem has turned into a dangerous day for religious Jews to walk around due to fear of arrest. As an attorney, I submitted several lawsuits against the police on the backdrop of racist policies and the court compels them time after time to compensate the ones whose rights were violated. I am happy that also in this case, significant compensation will be paid. We will continue to act in the Knesset to end this behavior.”