From the Liveblog of
Saturday, January 3, 2026
Prominent right-wing agitator, 5 others detained for brawling with protesters in Tel Aviv
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Police detained right-wing agitator Mordechai David and five other right-wing counterprotesters for questioning after they brawled with demonstrators this evening in Tel Aviv.
The six were detained close to the start of an anti-government protest at Habima Square, after officers at the scene noticed several people disrupting public order, police say.
According to Haaretz, another right-wing activist broke the camera lens of someone documenting the demonstration. Police distanced the activist from the photographer but did not arrest him.
While being escorted away by a policeman, David claims that he was “detained because leftists attacked him” when he “entered their demonstration and said: ‘King Bibi,'” referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
המשטרה עיכבה לפני מספר דקות את פעיל הימין מרדכי דוד מבני ברק, יחד עם חמישה פעילי ימין נוספים, לאחר שהתעמתו עם מפגיני שמאל במהלך הפגנה בכיכר הבימה. צילום: ישראל בניוק. pic.twitter.com/x4L2ZoKFD0
— לירי בורק שביט (@lirishavit) January 3, 2026
David was convicted of attempted arson for his role in the 2021 riots during the COVID-19 pandemic and has been interrogated several times more recently on suspicion of threatening journalists.
Police also arrested a 16-year-old boy from Bnei Brak, after he was spotted at the protest attempting to set fire to a Pride flag.
Officers apprehended him before he could set the flag alight and took him to the station for questioning.
The Times of Israel Community.