NIS 200,000 raised for reservist whose family car was burned during demo; he says he doesn’t blame anybody and will return to IDF knowing Israel supports him

The public donates more than NIS 200,000 ($60,000) for the family of a reservist whose car was accidentally torched during a demonstration in Jerusalem this morning, when protesters set fire to several trash cans that spread to the car.

In the wake of the incident, a group of protesters set up a fundraising page for the family, and within a few hours, NIS 200,000 had been raised — enough to purchase a new car, car seats and toys for the children.

The car belonged to  Maj. (res.) Yoav Bar-Ishai and his wife Tamar, who have three young children, including three-month-old twins. The father of the family has served over 250 days of reserve duty in the IDF since October 7, 2023, and is set to head to Gaza for another tour next week following the latest mass round of callups.

“Our car is gone. We support the hostages and the families, but this causes hate,” the mother told Channel 12 news earlier today.

Later, Yoav Bar-Ishai tells the same outlet: “I am not angry with anybody.”

“They didn’t deliberately set the car on fire,” he says, explaining that the blaze spread from a dumpster that was set alight. “It was an act of stupidity,” he says. “Everyone does stupid things, and this shouldn’t be inflated into some political thing.”

He adds that “someone just told me that, on the news, a family of hostages apologized for this happening. That pains me. They really do not have to apologize. We have to apologize to that family.”

He says he is very grateful that a large sum of money has been raised to cover the cost of the torched car and says, “It’s far more than the car’s worth.”

“I’m going to reserve duty strengthened by that story. I feel that I have support, not just from my family and my incredible wife, but from all the people of Israel,” he says.