2023-06-09 08:06:06
A member of Economy Minister Nir Barkat’s security detail fought with anti-government protesters inside a Boston hotel on Thursday, according to footage circulating on social media.
In the video, Barkat is seen walking down a hotel hallway, surrounded by security guards, as several protesters chant “shame” at the Likud MK while filming him with their phones.
We see the security service repelling the demonstrators; when one of them manages to slip between the bodyguards and run towards Barkat with his phone in hand – camera activated – one of the guards grabs him and throws him to the ground, then another guards him. grabs him briefly and manhandles him back.
According to a statement from the economy minister’s office, the protester allegedly tried to attack the former mayor of Jerusalem before being arrested.
The leadership of the national protest movement said in a statement that “Barkat’s team called the federal police and said he had been attacked.” “As can be clearly seen in this video, the man who was knocked down was filming with his phone and was obviously not attacking anyone. »
The protest movement said the protester might not walk following the incident and was taken to hospital.
Barkat has faced anti-government protesters at several events since arriving in New York last week for the annual ‘Celebrate Israel’ parade, an important event for the region’s Jewish community, which this year , was marked by tensions related to the reform of the judicial system planned by the government.
When Barkat arrived in New York, protesters were waiting for him at his hotel at 6 a.m., as they also had in his other public appearances throughout the week. Demonstrations also took place once morest the other coalition deputies present in the city.
After last Sunday’s parade, protesters interrupted the economy minister’s speech at a conference in New York, with the crowd chanting “shame”.
Barkat canceled a scheduled appearance at the Israeli consulate in Boston on Thursday, due to ongoing protests once morest coalition lawmakers traveling overseas.
Protesters have been holding weekly rallies across the United States for months and have managed to establish a network of hundreds of people in and around New York. Launching ‘a game of hide and seek’, activists were asked to track down coalition members on the move, sharing a photo of those they found and their whereregardings via a messaging service, so as to allow other opponents to join them on the spot as soon as possible.
MK Simcha Rothman (Otzma Yehudit), one of the key architects of the justice reform bill, had his own lot with protesters while in New York for the parade, violently grabbing a protester’s megaphone in a moment of tension captured on video. Last Friday’s incident sparked outrage in Israel and the United States.
Protesters and activists also accuse Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli (Likud), who was in town for the parade, of mocking them at the event. In a widely circulated photo, Chikli is seen staring at the camera and holding her fingers close to her mouth. Activists said Chikli gave them the middle finger; had retorted that he had simply told them to smile.
Protests abroad have baffled coalition MPs. Chikli saw a scheduled Thursday meeting with the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington canceled following intense pressure from inside and outside the federation and following several of the invited rabbis said they would not attend. the meeting.
Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis (Likud) canceled his attendance at an event in Los Angeles last week due to a reported protest at the conference venue.
Barkat reportedly canceled his participation in the Boston event following accusing the city’s consul general, Meron Reuben, of refusing to pledge to keep protesters out of the conference.
The conference was organized by the Consulate General of Israel in New England and was to celebrate Israel’s 75th anniversary.
The event was to take place at the Temple Beth Elohim synagogue, whose own rabbi had planned to protest the conference from outside the building, according to a tweet of the rabbi relayed by the demonstrators.
“Israeli ministers have come to realize in recent months that wherever they go, they will encounter protesters determined to fight the judicial reform bill,” said Josh Drill, international spokesman for the protest movement in Israel. “It doesn’t matter if it’s Tel Aviv, New York, London or Boston – wherever the destroyers of democracy go, we’ll be there. This protest is global and united. »
Other coalition MPs also faced complications during overseas visits throughout the week.
Finance Minister and leader of the Hatzionout HaDatit party, Bezalel Smotrich, traveled to Paris on Tuesday for a ministerial summit organized by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). But he had to face protestations and complications in securing meetings with French officials and Jewish community leaders apparently opposed to his radical ideology.
Smotrich’s office contacted several French counterparts for meetings and faced refusals, a French official told the Times of Israel.
However, Smotrich tweeted a photo of a meeting that he said included representatives from CRIF, the Central Consistory representing Orthodox communities, the Jewish National Fund, the Jewish Agency and rabbinical leaders, among others. The minister said they met to discuss ties between Israel and French Jewish communities, challenges facing French Jews and the role of the state, as well as “strengthening aliyah.” [immigration] from France to Israel.
The leaders of the Jewish groups abstained from the meeting and asked their deputies, or other members, to attend the interview with Smotrich, reported Haaretz. Senior Israeli government officials typically meet with members of the local Jewish community when traveling abroad, in order to maintain and strengthen ties with the Jewish state.
Separately, Rothman also sparked tensions on Tuesday at an event with US Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington, where she stressed the importance of an independent judiciary.
Rothman stood out for not applauding the speech.
Luke Tress contributed to this article.
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