From the Liveblog of
Sunday, March 9, 2025
Activist arrested in northern Israel for scuffling with education minister’s guards
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Police detained a close adviser to the mayor of Kiryat Shmona this morning after he allegedly scuffled with the security detail for Education Minister Yoav Kisch during his visit to the northern city.
Pe’er Laredo, an adviser to Mayor Avichai Stern, apparently tried to enter a teachers’ room where Kisch was located, and physically confronted guards who blocked him at the door.
Kisch, a Likud politician who publicly opposed Stern’s reelection, had been touring the schools in Kiryat Shmona, which reopened this morning for the first time since residents were evacuated from the city in wake of Hezbollah’s war on Israel following October 7.
Laredo tells Ynet that he wanted to speak to Kisch about safety risks that still required fixing in the city’s schools, but that his guards stopped him when he tried to enter.
“After a year and a half of being evacuated from our homes, I arrived to welcome the children and bring my child back to school. It’s insane that I find myself at the police station,” Laredo said to the Hebrew news outlet. “Minister Kisch came to cut a ribbon and continue with the political spin. He forgot that election season is over.”
Stern, who recently won reelection against his Likud-backed opponent Eli Zafrani in delayed elections, opposed Kisch’s visit and deemed it a cheap PR stunt.
“Sadly, after doing all he could to keep the schools from reopening at the right time and trying to take credit for the vital assistance we received from the Ministry for the Development of the Negev and the Galilee, the minister of education now asks to come and have his picture taken on the backdrop of the hard work of the Kiryat Shmona municipality and civil society to prepare schools [for reopening],” Stern said.
“It’s a shame that such motivation to visit the city was nowhere to be found for the past year and a half,” he remarked.
Kisch’s office claims that the Education Ministry had been attempting to set up a tour of Kiryat Shmona in cooperation with the municipality, but was repeatedly rejected. The statement also accuses Stern of “sending thugs to confront the minister, who were arrested by Shin Bet security guards.”
Police say Laredo will be brought to court in Kiryat Shmona today, where a judge will rule on their request to extend his detention.
The Times of Israel Community.