Man detained at Hebrew U after heckling ‘racist’ Ben Gvir at graduation ceremony
Alec Yefremov shouts that far-right minister, present to see his wife receive degree, is ‘responsible for so much death’; MK Gilad Kariv lauds Yefremov, who was later released
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A man was detained by police on Thursday at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, after he heckled National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir during a graduation ceremony in which the minister’s wife was receiving a degree.
Footage from the incident showed the heckler calling the far-right minister a “racist,” “responsible for so much death,” and a “Kahanist,” referring to the ideology espoused by US-born extremist rabbi Meir Kahane, who called for the expulsion of all Arabs from Israel.
According to Haaretz, the man — later identified as Alec Yefremov — also called Ben Gvir a “Goldstein fan,” referring to Baruch Goldstein, the US-born settler who in 1994 killed 29 Muslim worshipers in a terror attack at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. Ben Gvir, for many years, kept a photo of Goldstein in his home.
Yefremov was at the event to support his girlfriend, who was also receiving a degree, according to a university dean.
After the incident, police removed him from the site of the ceremony and handcuffed him. A second video, taken in a parking lot, showed him in handcuffs, surrounded by officers.
Haaretz reported that Yefremov was taken in for interrogation and is suspected of disrupting public order and insulting a public servant.
המשטרה עצרה צעיר שצעק "כהניסט" ו"גזען" לעבר בן גביר בטקס חלוקת תארים באוניברסיטה העברית, היום.
שימוש לפי סעיף 27א' לחוק זכויות יוצרים pic.twitter.com/d4UIW1vMYL— הארץ חדשות (@haaretznewsvid) November 6, 2025
Yefremov was released on Thursday evening, after which he posted on X, “I have only one thing to say: Ben Gvir is a Kahanist and a racist who is responsible for the death of many Jews and Arabs.”
The dean of Hebrew University’s humanities faculty decried the arrest.
“I deeply regret the police’s decision to arrest [the heckler],” wrote Professor Elisheva Baumgarten in an email circulated to university staff, saying that the arrest was not something she was aware of “in real time” as she stood onstage.
“The right to protest is an important right, and the police’s decision to arrest the guest stands in complete contradiction to the position of tolerance and free expression upon which the university and the State of Israel as a democratic state are based,” her email read.
According to Baumgarten, the university arranged security in advance for the far-right minister, anticipating his presence would spark protest from other guests. He and his wife sat separately from the rest of the crowd, close to the stage.
Ben Gvir and university administrators had apparently agreed that university security guards would deal with any problems that may arise from his attendance. Police escorting the minister would only intervene if a “serious issue” came about, Baumgarten said.
One of the guests, who was accompanying his girlfriend, who had been receiving a degree, began to shout at the minister, disturbing the ceremony. He was booted from the event by university security and did not return, she said.
הסניף הירושלמי של משטרת בן גביר בפעולה: צעיר נעצר ונאזק אחרי שצעק על איתמר בן גביר כשהגיע לטקס חלוקת תארים באוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים.
לפי עדי ראיה, האיש החל לצעוק על השר, הורחק ע"י מאבטחים וכפי שניתן לראות נאזק ע"י שוטרים בשטח האוניברסיטה ונלקח לחקירה. pic.twitter.com/8YExy3VYiE— Josh Breiner (@JoshBreiner) November 6, 2025
It was only after he was removed from the area that police accompanying Ben Gvir arrested the guest, Baumgarten claimed.
There was no immediate comment from Ben Gvir or the police.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid posed on X, in response to the incident: “A demonstrator in Jerusalem was arrested because he shouted ‘Kahanist’ at Ben Gvir. Ben Gvir is a declared, open, shameless Kahanist. The police cannot continue to carry out arrests like this. Israel is not a dictatorship in which it’s forbidden to speak truth to power.”
Lawmaker Gilad Kariv, of the left-wing Democrats party, said in a statement: “The Israel Police has been doing everything it can in recent months to make it clear there is no longer freedom to protest in Israel, especially when it comes to criticism of the criminal minister. We demand the police release the student immediately. Israel isn’t Russia, and Ben Gvir isn’t Putin.”
Separately, sharing the parking lot video on X, Kariv wrote: “This young man should receive an honorary doctorate from the university. The commander of this incident, who ordered the cuffing and arrest, also deserves an honorary degree. From the officers’ training academy in Russia.”
The Times of Israel Community.