Press release · For immediate release

Masked officers seize a groom in front of his bride five days after their wedding, and stun grenades are thrown beside a baby carriage as thousands protest

"Is there such a thing, to do this to a groom?"

Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh, 1 and 2 November 2026. Five people hospitalised, among them a pregnant woman. For the second week running, stun grenades thrown at people who posed no danger. Watch the footage and read the report.

Bnei Brak, Israel,

DOJI — Defenders of Orthodox Jews in Israel
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On Sunday afternoon, 1 November 2026, masked men in civilian clothes seized Yaari Lieberman, a young religious student, as he and his bride stepped off a bus in Jerusalem on the way to a celebration held in their honour. He had married five days earlier. According to the bride's mother, who spoke to the media minutes later, the men choked him, forced him to the ground, pushed him into a vehicle and refused to identify themselves. When the bride told them she was his wife and tried to call for help, they took her phone as well and drove away with her husband.

She made her way in tears to a civilian police station. The police had no record of him and began treating the case as a possible abduction. Only later did it emerge that the men were Military Police and that he was being held at Military Prison 10, where a disciplinary hearing that afternoon sentenced him to 20 days' imprisonment. It was the second attempt to seize him: on 6 October, Military Police had come to his parents' home in Modi'in at night and left after two hours without him.

That night thousands of people took to the streets in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh. Police responded with stun grenades, a water cannon and batons. Footage from Beit Shemesh shows a stun grenade thrown down a road toward passers-by and detonating in flames beside a public bus with passengers on board, and a grenade exploding beside a baby carriage with a child inside in a public garden. At least five people were taken to hospital, among them a pregnant woman, a teenage boy and a 21-year-old reported to have lost toes. On Monday morning, 2 November, after the public outcry, Mr Lieberman was released and returned home to his bride.

"A groom was dragged from his bride in the street by men who would not say who they were, and that night a grenade was thrown beside a baby. For the second week in a row, stun grenades are being used as a first resort against people who posed no danger to anyone," said a spokesperson for DOJI — Defenders of Orthodox Jews in Israel. "Israel demands that every other country investigate every act of violence against Jews. We ask Israel to investigate this one."

The footage

The clip at the top of this page: officers in plain clothes walk down a shopping street. A stun grenade detonates among people standing beside a fenced public garden. The people present are standing, not confronting police.

Below: a stun grenade is thrown down the road, without looking, toward people who were not part of the protest. It detonates in flames beside a public bus with passengers on board. No stone-throwing or threat to officers is visible.

What the bride's mother said

From a phone interview broadcast shortly after the arrest, translated from Hebrew:

"We had a Sheva Brachot celebration planned, but they simply choked him, threw him to the ground and shoved him into a vehicle. They refused to identify themselves. They had masks on their faces."

"My daughter is in trauma. Her whole body is shaking; she doesn't stop crying. I don't understand. Is there such a thing, to do this to a groom?"

"She told them she is the bride, and they took her phone too. They didn't let her do anything, not even call anyone."

The injured

As reported by Magen David Adom, United Hatzalah, Tzevet Hatzalah and eyewitnesses:

  • A pregnant woman, struck by a stun grenade. Hospitalised.
  • A 21-year-old who lost toes and a boy of about 15 with a fracture, after a stun grenade struck the foot. Hospitalised.
  • A man struck in the chest at the entrance to a parking area. Hospitalised.
  • Protesters in Jerusalem dispersed for hours with stun grenades and a water cannon on Haim Bar-Lev Road.

The official position. The IDF stated: "Today, in a planned arrest operation, the Military Police arrested a draft evader who was taken into custody in accordance with the law." Police state that "hundreds of rioters" threw stones, set bins alight and pushed concrete barriers into the road, and that two youths were injured by a barrier they themselves pushed in a location where there were no police officers. The footage above shows no such activity at the places where the grenades were thrown.

Questions that demand answers

  1. Under what rules of engagement may a stun grenade be thrown toward civilians who are not engaged in violence, and toward a baby carriage?
  2. Why were officers operating masked, in civilian clothes and without identification, and why did they refuse to identify themselves to the bride?
  3. On what legal basis was the bride's personal phone confiscated?
  4. Was location tracking of a civilian's phone authorised, and by whom?
  5. Why was a non-violent young man reportedly choked and forced to the ground?
  6. Who approved the decision to seize a groom in the middle of his wedding week, after a previous attempt at his parents' home had been abandoned?
  7. Will an independent inquiry be opened into the injuries of the pregnant woman and the hospitalised youths?

Full report and sources

The five-page incident report with the timeline, the testimony, the injuries, the police position and all sources:

Incident report: a groom seized in his wedding week, stun grenades thrown at civilians, 1–2 November 2026 (PDF, 5 pages)

About DOJI

DOJI — Defenders of Orthodox Jews in Israel — was founded to defend the rights of Orthodox Jews in Israel. The organization documents violations of religious freedom and human rights against civilians and peaceful protesters, distributes the material to news agencies, governments and international human rights bodies, and builds a documented legal case to bring these violations before the appropriate authorities.

Media Contact

DOJI — Defenders of Orthodox Jews in Israel
Website: dooji.org
Email: press@dooji.org
Phone: 855-200-3654