Activists for hostages hound minister during school visit; 2 arrested for assault
Police escort Education Minister Kisch from school where Gaza border evacuees are enrolled, as dozens of demonstrators pursue him, accuse government of ‘destroying the country’
Michael Horovitz is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel
Education Minister Yoav Kisch was escorted by police Wednesday out of a school after dozens of protesters demanding the government reach a deal to free hostages held in Gaza demonstrated against him throughout the visit.
Israel Police said in a statement that they arrested two demonstrators for assault and attempted assault during the protest at the HaElla school in Kfar Menachem, where evacuees from the Gaza border kibbutz of Nir Oz are enrolled.
When Kisch first arrived, police cleared protesters who attempted to block the minister from entering the grounds, Hebrew media reported.
Protesters, carrying yellow ribbons and posters of hostages held by Hamas, yelled, “What are you doing for Nir Oz?” and “Do you even know where it is?”
Activists were also seen jumping the fence of the school and pursuing Kisch inside. Outside a classroom he was visiting, protesters chanted, “Why are they still in Gaza?” referring to hostages held by Hamas terrorists.
Later, when the minister tried to leave, protesters blocked the exit to the school and could be seen in footage scuffling with police forces escorting the minister.
מחאה נגד שר החינוך קיש שהגיע לבית ספר שבו לומדים תלמידי ניר עוז: "כבוד השר מה עשית בשביל החטופים?" @yael_odem
צילום: רותם מאייר pic.twitter.com/EiuIvlSt4A
— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) September 4, 2024
“Shame, you are destroying the country,” protesters are heard yelling, as Kisch is led out by police.
השר לפירוק מערכת החינוך יואב קיש @YoavKisch, הגיע היום לפוטו-אופ בבי״ס האלה בקיבוץ כפר מנחם, שבו התחילו ללמוד תלמידי ניר-עוז. אפילו שהתושבים הודיעו לו מראש שהוא לא רצוי במקום – בלי בושה הוא בא לעשות על גב הילדים סיבוב יח"צ חסר רגישות ????
המנותק הגיע כמובן מוקף במאבטחים ביריונים… pic.twitter.com/pnRgGEiUQB
— Nava Rozolyo נאווה רוזוליו (@rozolyo) September 4, 2024
In response, Kisch labeled the protest a “political demonstration,” adding that “the only ones who earn anything from this is [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar and Hamas.”
“I knew a protest was planned, but I didn’t think that such a protest should prevent me from meeting teachers,” he said in a statement, adding that he saw “hatred” in the eyes of the protesters.
“They were violent, they beat policemen. I will do my job, this doesn’t deter me,” he said.
Anti-government protests have ballooned this week after the Israel Defense Forces recovered the bodies of six hostages from Gaza on Saturday night, all of them executed by their Hamas captors just days earlier.
Rallies have been held in major cities and intersections across the country, while demonstrators have hounded ministers outside their homes and in public.
Activists have slammed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence the IDF maintains its presence along the Philadelphi Corridor, the strip of land along the Gaza-Egypt border, and turning it into a major sticking point in talks while hostages die in captivity.
It is believed that 97 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas during the October 7 terror onslaught remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 33 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 37 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
