Two men arrested after trying to sell hametz in Bnei Brak
In an effort to provoke ultra-Orthodox residents, two men offer up leavened food to passersby on Sokolov Street in the city; they also reportedly used pepper spray on people trying to remove them.
Police arrested two young men on Sunday on suspicion of trying to sell leavened food (hametz) in Bnei Brak, an ultra-Orthodox city, during Passover.
The two were peddling their "wares" on Sokolov Street, offering food that is not kosher for Passover to passersby.
The two set up a makeshift stand with a sign that says "'(Blessed be You O Lord) who has brought forth bread out of the earth'? In Passover as well! Don't tell us what to eat and what not!"
A video obtained by Ynet shows passersby surrounding the two and demanding that they leave.
"There's a guy trying to get a headline," one of the passersby is heard saying.
After the two were arrested, one passersby remarked, "This is where you belong, crazy people."
The two apparently sprayed the crowd trying to remove them with pepper spray.
Police said in a statement that "the suspects were taken in for questioning at the Dan Station on suspicion of breaking the law barring the sale of hametz and of disturbing the public peace."
One of the two suspects, a formerly ultra-Orthodox man who became secular, has been coming to Bnei Brak in recent weeks to provoke the residents. In February, he was seen burning Tefillin, and two weeks ago he was standing on the street with a photo of a naked woman.
