2 arrested, several hurt by cops at rally against PM after Shin Bet head’s court filing
Thousands gather in Tel Aviv, say Netanyahu ‘unfit’ to serve after Bar said premier urged him to curb protesters; mounted police whip photojournalist, allegedly hurt protest leader
Thousands of anti-government protesters rallied at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square Monday night in an impromptu demonstration called after Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a court filing of having sought to use the domestic security agency against activists opposed to the premier.
“The Shin Bet chief revealed today a dangerous attempt by Netanyahu to turn the Shin Bet into a tyrannical tool for persecuting Israeli citizens. He ordered monitoring of citizens, asked for information about them, and in secret talks demanded that the Shin Bet head obey him rather than the law,” a statement from protest leaders said, summing up some of the details included in Bar’s court submission.
“This is a clear and immediate danger to Israeli democracy, posed by someone whose office received money from Qatar, Hamas’s chief sponsor, during wartime,” they argued, echoing suspicions at the basis of the Qatargate affair.
“Netanyahu has lost all legitimacy to lead,” they charged. “He’s unfit to serve.”
Speakers at the event included The Democrats party leader Yair Golan, former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon, and various protest leaders.
A group of lawyers who give pro bono representation to anti-government activists said two protesters were arrested at the Begin-HaHashmonaim intersection and taken to central Tel Aviv’s Lev police station.
According to Haaretz, they were among a group of protesters who marched from Habima toward the Ayalon Highway. The two were detained after sitting down on the street and refusing police orders to clear the road, Haaretz reported.
A mounted police officer appeared to whip a Haaretz photojournalist during the stormy protest. Several videos uploaded to social media showed a policeman on horseback hitting Itai Ron with his riding crop, causing Ron to lurch backwards.
פרש מצליף בצלם הארץ איתי רון
תל אביב 21/04/2025
צילום: יאיר פלטי@itonaim @Haaretz pic.twitter.com/IJHzGb4oMi
— אלימות ישראל (@Alimut_Israel) April 21, 2025
Footage showed mounted officers bumping up against protesters who had already vacated the road and were standing on the sidewalk, in compliance with the police orders.
When marchers reached Begin Road, Lev Tel Aviv station chief Deputy Superintendent Micha Gafni declared the demonstration illegal and called for the “arrests of the protest leaders” through a megaphone.
A police horse also trampled on the foot of prominent anti-Netanyahu activist Moshe Radman, who required treatment from a volunteer medic, organizers said.
Radman shared on Facebook a picture of his foot in a cast, writing that he was on his way to Ichilov Hospital after “the mounted officers were a little excited today at the march.”
Bar was fired in a cabinet decision on March 21 at Netanyahu’s recommendation after the prime minister said he had lost faith in Bar’s ability to do his job. However, several government watchdog groups have alleged that the decision was tainted by a conflict of interest amid Shin Bet investigations into Netanyahu’s aides, as well as by severe procedural problems in the dismissal process.
The High Court of Justice froze Bar’s dismissal and told the government and the Attorney General’s Office to work out a solution for resolving the procedural failures, while also inviting Bar to submit his version of events to the court.
Bar submitted an eight-page public statement on Monday via the State Attorney’s Office, along with a 31-page classified statement with five appendices providing greater detail and documentation of his claims.
The Times of Israel Community.