Far-right online agitator Mordechai David, the new face of Israel’s toxic political discourse

AFP — Sporting a baseball cap and brandishing his smartphone like a weapon, Mordechai David dedicates his time to filming people against their will.

On a recent day, his target was the family of an Israeli filmmaker whose controversial documentary “NAZA,” accuses Israel of  AI-powered mass killing of civilians in Gaza, charges Israel and the military vociferously reject.

“You are not welcome!” he shouted into a megaphone as he livestreamed footage of dozens of fellow demonstrators outside the home of the parents of Rachel Szor, who co-directed the film with Yuval Abraham.

The 27-year-old David is one of the most striking figures driving a coarsening of Israel’s political discourse, where elections will be held on October 27 and will be a verdict on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his hard-right government.

David’s speciality is tracking down and publicly berating left-wingers or others he considers “unpatriotic” and then posting everything online, much to the delight of his 150,000 social media followers.

“Social media can be stronger than television,” David told AFP in a rare interview.

“This very week I posted a few videos that got more than one million views.”

His targets, whom he peppers with insults, have included Lucy Aharish, an Arab Israeli who made history as the first Muslim anchor on Hebrew-language television, and Aharon Barak, a 90-year-old former Supreme Court president and outspoken critic of the government’s judicial reforms.

“Age doesn’t get you a free pass,” David said, likening the judge to Iran’s former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli strike earlier this year.

David accused the retired judge of “taking control of the State of Israel,” a hyperbolic charge that echoes Netanyahu’s campaign against the judiciary as he faces charges of corruption.

Channelling anger

As in many nations, a growing number of Israelis, especially the young, have pivoted away from traditional media in favour of online influencers promoting provocative, ideological messages.

In Israel, the divisions are especially acute. The country held five elections between 2019 and 2022.

This month’s vote will be the first since the trauma of October 7, 2023, when Hamas carried out the deadliest attack ever against Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 251 hostage.

Achiya Schatz, founder of the research group Fake Reporter that tracks online debates and disinformation, said David showed “the level of polarization in Israeli society and the way in which belligerence” has been normalized.

“A significant section of the Israeli right wing feels ignored and sidelined,” he said, even though Netanyahu has been in power for most of the last 17 years.

“Mordechai David channels their belligerence into political expression and entertainment,” he said.

David has faced repeated complaints that his visual clips amount to harassment.

His infamous behavior has made him a darling of Channel 14, a television network close to the ruling right-wing coalition.

David is closely aligned with Itamar Ben Gvir, the far-right national security minister who has bragged about worsening conditions in prisons and advocated a death penalty for Palestinian terrorists.

Ben Gvir has recruited David as part of his campaign team, filming content that has ensured a fan base for the 50-year-old extremist among young voters.

David got his start as an ordinary counter-protester during the mass movement before October 7 against a judicial overhaul planned by Netanyahu, who has sought to decrease the independence of judges.

After the attack, he gained notoriety by aggressively infiltrating demonstrations for a hostage deal, denouncing Israelis who would have ended the war in Gaza earlier in exchange for Hamas releasing its captives.

David proved “his instinct for showmanship,” Schatz said.

But his content can often diverge sharply from reality.

Feeding polemic

In mid-September, days before the Jewish New Year, in Tel Aviv’s bustling Dizengoff Square, David ostentatiously tried to organize a prayer session separating men and women.

Gender segregation is standard practice for many Orthodox Jews but is forbidden in public places by the government of socially liberal Tel Aviv.

David approached women on the street inviting them to the women-only section. As they refused, he filmed their reactions. In the end, only about 20 men participated, with police keeping a close watch.

When police intervened to take down the gender-segregation barriers, a brief commotion broke out as the men booed.

But when David posted the scene several hours later, the editing gave viewers the impression of a major clash — a violent confrontation in Israel’s secular heart.

“You just need a few people to create an incident that generates 10 videos, hundreds of posts, television coverage and several days of political polemic,” Shatz said.

“The physical event is just the backdrop. The real audience is online.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.