Police arrest two suspects for threats against senior Health Ministry official

Two men from northern Israel were arrested and questioned Tuesday over threats against Health Ministry official Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, police said.

Alroy-Preis, the Health Ministry’s head of public services and a top COVID adviser, has been the target of a series of threats in the past few months. Last week, such threats prompted her husband to publicly chastise police for not taking action, and a day later, she was assigned a security guard.

Police said Thursday that the two men, a Tiberias resident, aged 38, and a 40-year-old from Hatzor were detained “on suspicion of online threats” against Alroy-Preis.

The two men have been released with restrictions, a police statement said, and the investigation against them was ongoing.

On Thursday, Alroy-Preis’s husband posted a tweet directed at the accounts of the police and Public Security Minister Omer Barlev, asserting that there were credible, violent threats against his wife that must be immediately addressed.

In response, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett issued a statement condemning the threats and the “anti-vaxxers” he said were behind them.

Hours after Meir Preis’s tweet, police confirmed they had opened an investigation into the threats.

“We take a grave view of any publication directed against public servants,” police said on Thursday. “We will act with all means available to bring the suspects to justice.”

Police have since ordered a full-time security detail to Alroy-Preis.

Minister Barlev, whose ministry oversees the police, told Kan news on Sunday that Alroy-Preis was currently classified as “highly threatened.” He said the ministry would consider providing security for other senior health officials if necessary.

Alroy-Preis, one of the government’s top COVID-19 advisers, has faced threats and attacks for many months. She has been a particular target of anti-vaccine activists and those who chafe against the government’s pandemic restrictions.

In August, Alroy-Preis revealed that she had been given a panic button by authorities to alert police of any potential danger, following continued harassment and threats by anti-vaxxers.

Protests held outside her home earlier this year included chants of “Nazi murderer” and “daughter of the devil,” while some in attendance wore yellow stars comparing COVID restrictions to the Holocaust.

In late August, an anti-vaccine activist was indicted for issuing death threats against Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton and her family.