Activist arrested over ‘Free Palestine’ sticker on memorial for soldier killed Oct. 7
Andrey Khrzhanovskiy held after he posts video of himself putting Palestinian flag on memorial for Cpt. Shilo Cohen at what he claims is Sderot ‘lookout’ for watching Gaza ‘genocide’
Police arrested a social media activist on Thursday for putting a pro-Palestinian sticker on a memorial for a soldier killed during the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre.
Andrey Khrzhanovskiy was arrested while sitting at a café in Tel Aviv after police received a complaint over a video he posted online on November 30 of himself putting a sticker of a Palestinian flag with the phrase “Free Palestine” on a memorial commemorating Cpt. Shilo Cohen in Sderot.
His attorney argued that his actions fall under the protection of free speech, adding that since the sticker had been removed from the memorial, it did not amount to vandalism.
Khrzhanovskiy was held in detention overnight and his release was ordered on Friday on bail of NIS 15,000 (approximately $4,000) and on condition that he would not visit memorial sites for the next month.
Police, however, apparently appealed the decision, with Khrzhanovskiy to be held in detention at least until Sunday, according to a post on his Instagram page.
Khrzhanovskiy has over 70,000 followers on both TikTok and Instagram, where he mostly posts videos of himself filming soldiers and settlers in the West Bank.
2. מצרף את הסרטון של אנדריי ממצפה שילה ומאנדרטת הארבעה הסמוכה (לזכר 4 מחללי צוק איתן), ותמונות של אנדריי בג'נין, טול כרם וטובאס תוך הפרת החוק וכניסה לשטח A לצורך הזדהות עם תושבי הערים הללו לאחר פעולות צה"ל נגד מחבלים.
בעבר נעצר כמה פעמים ושוחרר pic.twitter.com/QXO4hvNkce— אלחנן גרונר (@elchanangr) December 3, 2024
In the video that apparently led to his arrest, he referred to the memorial as “an Israeli lookout platform that was set up so that Israelis can come here and watch the genocide that their state is unfolding.” Israel has strenuously denied all allegations of genocide.
A Russian national, Khrzhanovskiy apparently immigrated to Israel in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to the Israel Hayom outlet, Housing and Construction Minister Yitzchak Goldknopf wrote to Israel Police chief Daniel Levy on Wednesday to demand steps are taken against Khrzhanovskiy.
“The above-mentioned leftist activist penetrates prohibited areas and systematically violates the law,” the Haredi minister reportedly wrote. “In a series of videos, he appears in several cities in the Palestinian Authority after IDF operations against terrorists, including Jenin, Tulkarm, and Tubas. His actions constitute a blatant violation of the law and public order in the State of Israel.”
“As someone in charge of law and order in the State of Israel, I ask you to instruct the enforcement agencies to put an end to [his] immoral actions, which dishonor the memory of those killed, and fan the flames in the country,” Goldknopf wrote.
Cohen’s father, Aryeh, said Khrzhanovskiy’s actions were “malicious.”
“The word ‘desecration’ is too big. The correct word is ‘malicious,'” he told the Kan public broadcaster.
“When someone takes a place meant to honor the heroes who fell in this war and turns it into a platform for something extreme, absurd, and inappropriate, it’s essentially exploiting the true Israeli democracy abusing freedom and saying such harsh things,” Aryeh Cohen said.
Shilo Cohen, 24, a resident of Sderot and officer in the elite Shaldag unit, left his home on October 7 with his handgun when he understood the scale of what was unfolding. He joined a group of Sayeret Matkal soldiers he met at an intersection and participated with them in the battle at Kibbutz Be’eri, where he was killed.
Right-wing Israeli politicians have long worked to advance bills forbidding the waving of Palestinian flags in public spaces. Police typically confiscate Palestinian flags flown at protests using the wide leeway they are granted to take action to maintain public order.
