Yisrael Beytenu mounts challenge against ‘racism’ toward Russian immigrants

Yisrael Beytenu’s MK Yulia Melanovsky is demanding that police investigate rock star and actor Gidi Gov for incitement and racism after he blasted Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman amid a fight over blackballing another singer.

On Tuesday, Liberman demanded Army Radio boycott singer Yehonatan Gefen, after he compared Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi to Anne Frank, Hannah Szenesh, King David and Joan of Arc. Liberman was widely criticized for the move and was quickly rebuffed by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, who said he had overstepped his bounds.

In an interview with Radio Tel Aviv later on Tuesday, Gov said “it’s hard to hear someone with a Russian accent, a new immigrant, call Yehonatan Geffen an enemy of Israel.” Liberman is originally from Moldova. Many of Yisrael Beytenu’s members come from the former USSR.

In a letter to Mandelblit,  Melanovsky demands that police open a criminal investigation into the entertainer “for incitement to racism and making racist statements publicly,”

In a separate letter, fellow party member MK Robert Ilyatov insists Gov be banned from the Radio Tel Aviv station until he issues a public apology.