Since the attack last night (Tuesday) on Rabbi Yigal Levinstein by left-wing demonstrators in Tel Aviv, the only MK from the opposition who condemned it was Ze'ev Elkin, now also the chairman of his party Benny Gantz joins in and condemns the attempted violent attack.
In a tweet posted on his Twitter account, Benny Gantz wrote: "The calls and actions bordering on violence during last night's protest in Tel Aviv and Ron Koffman's ugly statement, which he rightly retracted, are concerning and deserving of condemnation. Especially as a liberal camp, we must ensure that we don't throw the baby out with the bathwater."
He added, "Sharp and determined protest – yes. Generalization against an entire public, incitement, and violence – beyond the pale."
As mentioned, this condemnation comes after the head of the Eli pre-military training school, Rabbi Yigal Levinstein and the chairman of the "Rosh Yehudi" organization Yisrael Zaira were attacked by a mob near the "Rosh Yehudi" branch in Tel Aviv. The two who arrived at Beit Rosh Yehudi encountered hundreds of Tel Aviv residents who came to protest against them. During the protest, a number of demonstrators began to approach Rabbi Levinstein and his companions in an attempt to attack them.
Yesh Atid did not condemn, Michaeli justified
Since the attack, in the opposition they neither condemned nor, after Srugim turned to the spokesperson of the Yesh Atid party, did they specifically condemn the event. They stated, "We are against any act of violence and condemn any violence, regardless of who it is directed towards." This was without a real reference to the event in Tel Aviv.
The leader of the Labor Party, Merav Michaeli, also refused to condemn the event and even justified it. At the "Religion and City" conference of the Ne'emaney Torah Ve'Avodah movement, Kolech, and Itim, Michaeli said: "It is justified to protest against Rabbi Levinstein. We are talking about a man who has fought against women in the public sphere in general and against women in the IDF in particular. When he acts from his yeshiva against the IDF, women, and liberalism in a democratic country, using the substantial funding he receives from the state, no one protests against him."
