Men in black

Israel: Messianic believers and ultra-Orthodox clash in Israeli town | Jill Nelson

Oded Balilty/AP

The latest scuffle on the streets of this small Israeli town in the Negev desert came as no real surprise to Eddie Beckford. Arad's ultra-Orthodox crowd has taunted, threatened, and assaulted the modest Messianic Jewish presence for years, holding massive demonstrations outside their homes and even torching the local chess club and Bible shop—a popular destination for the town's Russian immigrants.

What confounded Beckford this time around were the events following the skirmish. As one of the town's Orthodox tried to snatch his video camera on Feb. 27, Beckford and Steve Kaplan, an American tourist, shielded themselves. Both were assaulted, they claim, as they pushed the man away, but local police arrested only the victims and recorded testimony from the ultra-Orthodox community alone. Kaplan was released, but a judge placed Beckford on house arrest in Beersheva, miles away from Arad.