Yisrael Beytenu: Activists attacked by Ben Gvir supporters

‘Traitor’: Opposition candidates face attacks, harassment on election day

Man arrested near Yair Golan with knife; 2 Democrats activists punched; Man swears at father of slain soldier Itay Chen; Haredi candidate accosted, says kids were harassed at home

By Noam Lehmann, Stav Levaton, Ariela Karmel and ToI Staff 27 October 2026, 11:08 pm
Democrats party chairman Yair Golan casts his vote at a polling station in Rosh HaAyin, central Israel, during Israel’s general elections, October 27, 2026. (Reuven Schwartz/Flash90)

Opposition politicians and activists have faced attacks and harassment on election day, with left-wing party candidate Yair Golan accosted by a man with a knife, and two activists for his Democrats party punched in the face.

In addition, insurgent Haredi politician Moti Leitner was jeered by a crowd of young men at a bus stop, and said that another group of youths approached his home and threatened his children.

Separately, the father of a slain hostage was called a “traitor” at a polling station, while the hawkish Yisrael Beytenu party said far-right activists destroyed one of its campaign stands.

The incidents serve as a bitter coda to the acrimonious 2026 election campaign, in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel is in danger of being destroyed if he is not reelected, and his opponents have accused him of treason. Nevertheless, the day passed peacefully for the vast majority of voters in an election that saw a record turnout.

Man arrested near Golan with knife; 2 Democrats activists punched

The Democrats party said a man was arrested after he apparently tried to stab party chief Yair Golan in Tel Aviv’s Mesila Park.

Golan’s security detail blocked the man as he approached the party leader “in an intimidating manner” while Golan was campaigning, the party said.

A large knife then fell out of the man’s clothes onto the ground, and the security detail tackled him and alerted police, who detained him, the party added.

Golan was given a security detail this week after the party raised alarm about repeated threats on his life.

Golan was quoted in the party’s statement as saying the incident was “the direct result of the poison machine operated by Netanyahu “and his Qatari agents.” Critics of Netanyahu use the term “poison machine” to refer to Netanyahu’s network of supporters in the press and social media.

“The incitement and violence won’t intimidate us,” Golan said.

Police confirmed in a statement that they arrested a suspect near Golan, a Jerusalem resident in his 20s, in possession of a knife, but denied that there was an attempted stabbing.

Separately, two activists from Golan’s Democrats party were punched in the face at a campaign booth in Holon. One was said to have lost consciousness.

Video of the incident showed a man approaching the booth as activists for the left-wing party attempted to block his path, before he punched two of them in the face, knocking one to the ground.

The Democrats identified the assailant as affiliated with far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, chair of the Otzma Yehudit party.

A man punches two activists for The Democrats party in Holon on election day, October 27, 2026. (The Democrats)

They said Golan had interrupted his election-day schedule to travel to Holon and meet with the victims.

“The incitement by outgoing Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu has fully trickled down to the grassroots,” the party said in a statement. “We will not allow anyone to disrupt the proper conduct of the elections, and we will not be deterred or intimidated by threats and attacks.”

Father of slain soldier Itay Chen called ‘traitor’

Ruby Chen, the father of Israeli-American Staff Sgt. Itay Chen, who was killed during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, onslaught and was held captive in Gaza, was verbally accosted outside a polling station in Netanya while holding a photograph of his son.

Video of the encounter showed Chen standing alongside another man wearing a sticker promoting former prime minister Naftali Bennett’s opposition B’Yachad party, as a voter confronted Chen, repeatedly calling him a “traitor,” and making obscene gestures and screaming obscenities at him.

The man standing next to Chen responded, “Have you no shame?”

Chen’s son, a 19-year-old soldier, was killed on October 7 while battling the Hamas invasion of southern Israel, and his body was taken captive to Gaza before being returned by Hamas on November 4, 2025.

Yisrael Beytenu says activists attacked by Ben Gvir supporters

Yisrael Beytenu party, likewise, said its activists were attacked in Netanya by individuals wearing Otzma Yehudit T-shirts.

“They destroyed the party’s campaign stand, scattered its campaign materials and replaced them with Otzma Yehudit flyers,” the party said in a statement, adding that the assailants fled the scene.

“We strongly condemn the violence and demand that police identify the attackers and bring them to justice,” the party said, adding that the activists intended to file a police complaint.

Haredi candidate accosted, says kids were harassed at home

Meanwhile, in the West Bank settlement of Modiin Illit, Leitner, chair of the Charedi Public party, was accosted by a group of youths who booed him and yelled “shame on you!” Another man also jeered him.

He responded, “A Jew doesn’t act this way, for shame!” and called one of his detractors a “criminal.”

The crowd booing him got more agitated when a pair of female IDF soldiers approached the scene.

Leitner’s party is running as an alternative to the established Haredi parties, and takes comparatively moderate stances on ultra-Orthodox enlistment in the military and education. Its slate also includes women candidates, as opposed to Shas and United Torah Judaism.

Leitner said his party received hundreds of reports of intimidation and harassment at polling stations, as videos showed ultra-Orthodox youths vandalizing a booth manned by party activists in Modiin Illit and setting campaign materials on fire.

“In recent hours, we have received a wave of reports of intimidation and bullying at polling stations, including the removal of [Charedi Public] ballot slips from polling stations, attacks on our activists and, even more seriously, threats against voters,” Leitner said.

He claimed voters were warned that if the party’s ballot slips are found in ballot boxes, their votes would be identified and they would face retaliation.

“We call on the Israel Police to get its act together and do its job,” Leitner said. “Otherwise, we will witness one of the most violent and fraudulent election campaigns in the ultra-Orthodox community.”

Leitner also said in a separate video that a group of dozens of Haredi youth came up to his home and “shouted violent shouts,” causing his children to cry and call him in panic.

“I fear for the fate of my children,” he said. “They’re crazy, they’ve lost it, they’re out for blood.”

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