Footage shows protesters did not heckle AG outside synagogue
New clip shows Avichai Mandelblit calmly walking into shul, without hearing a word from the demonstrators
Contrary to initial claims, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit was not heckled and harassed while entering his synagogue in Petah Tikva as the Sabbath ended, footage aired by Hadashot news Monday appeared to show.
The new video followed two days of harsh criticism against the demonstrators, from both sides of the political aisle, for what had been initially vilified as a blatant disregard for Mandelblit’s privacy as well as a lack of sensitivity to his religious beliefs. The attorney general had been on his way to say Kaddish — the Jewish mourning prayer.
Initial reports said that the protesters had interrupted his prayers, forcing him to flee in the middle.
Hadashot news said the video came from a documentary film maker who has been following the protesters.
While Monday’s footage still raises questions as to the appropriateness of the handful of protesters’ decision to stand outside the synagogue, Mandelblit can be seen calmly walking into the synagogue without hearing a word from the demonstrators.
A Sunday statement from the Justice Ministry claimed the new tape did not “represent the reality,” but did not elaborate.
Every Saturday night for over a year, demonstrations have been held outside Mandelblit’s home in Petah Tikva, alleging that he is stalling in a series of corruption probes against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
On Saturday evening, several demonstrators arrived in the course of the Maariv (evening prayer) marking the end of the Sabbath and held a symbolic Havdalah (end of Sabbath) prayer outside the synagogue. Angry worshipers came out and confronted them. Mandelblit left the synagogue before the end of the services, reportedly departing because of concern that the incident would escalate.
Amid an outcry, organizers of the weekly Petah Tikva demonstrations distanced themselves from the incident, saying they had no connection to it.
And politicians slammed the protesters for interrupting his prayers.
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked called the protesters “violent thugs.”
Moshe Cohen, the spokesman for the Justice Ministry, issued a personal statement, calling the protesters “an embarrassment,” and said they had “crossed a red line.”
Opposition leader Isaac Herzog also condemned the protesters.
“Shocked at the callous protesters, lacking any sensitivity that interrupted the attorney general while praying in a synagogue and saying Kaddish for his mother,” tweeted Herzog. “A totally inhuman act. Even the sacred right to protest in Israel’s democracy has limits that can’t be breached.”
The weekly demonstrations at Mandelblit’s home originally attracted small numbers of protesters, but have swelled to more than 2,000 in recent months. They have also spawned much bigger anti-corruption rallies, held in Tel Aviv and across the country.
In April, the High Court of Justice ruled that while the protests should not be used to exert improper pressure on public servants by harassing them in their private residences, it could not prevent the demonstrations, which are an “important and central component of any democratic society.”
In August, police tried to block the protests, which had grown to 2,000 people, and arrested two of the organizers — leaders Menny Naftali, a former caretaker of the Prime Minister’s Residence, and Eldad Yaniv, an anti-corruption lawyer and Labor Party activist — as they tried to make their way to the planned site of the demonstration.
Netanyahu has described the weekly events as part of an undemocratic effort to topple him “at any cost.”
There have also been counter-demonstrations by right-wing supporters.
Demonstrators have been calling on the attorney general to act in corruption scandals involving Netanyahu. In the so-called Case 1000, Netanyahu and his wife Sara are suspected of receiving illicit gifts from billionaire benefactors, most notably hundreds of thousands of shekels’ worth of cigars and champagne from the Israeli-born Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan.
Case 2000 involves a suspected illicit quid pro quo deal between Netanyahu and Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper publisher Arnon “Noni” Mozes that would have seen the prime minister weaken a rival daily, the Sheldon Adelson-backed Israel Hayom, in return for more favorable coverage from Yedioth.
Netanyahu has denied wrongdoing in both cases.
The attorney general and state prosecutor have denied stalling, saying the investigations simply take a long time to complete.
