A prominent anti-government protester walked back incendiary comments on Saturday in which he appeared to justify the possible assassination of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he were to “assume dictatorial powers”.
Ze’ev Raz, a former Air Force pilot who flew in the plane Celebrated 1981 mission to bomb an Iraqi nuclear reactorwithdrew the comments amid widespread backlash.
In a statement late Saturday, police said they had launched an investigation into Raj on “suspicion of incitement and threats”.
“If a prime minister stands up and gains dictatorial powers for himself, he’s a dead man, it’s that simple,” Raj wrote in Friday’s Facebook post, not naming Netanyahu.
Raz, who was a prominent figure in the Netanyahu Balfour protest movement in 2020 and 2021, stressed to followers that Jewish religious principles From run, Allowing extrajudicial killing of someone who intended to kill or harm others, in that case could apply to the prime minister as well as his ministers and followers.
If a leader “behaves in a dictatorial manner, there is an obligation to kill them,” Raj wrote.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony at the Haifa port on January 31, 2023. (Shir Torem/Flash90)
Justifying his claim, Raz argued that allowing the controversial judicial overhaul to proceed would “kill too many innocents, and it would be better to kill the criminals first.”
On Saturday, amid growing outrage over his comments, Raz again took to Facebook in an attempt to retract his earlier statement, claiming he was merely quoting someone else who initially made the comments.
Raj said when he saw that the person was deleting the reference from Rodef, He also deleted his Facebook post. He said, ‘I do not identify myself with that post.’
Prior to the assassination of then-prime minister Yitzhak Rabin by a Jewish extremist in 1995, some in the religious-Zionist community argued that the premier’s intention to sign the Oslo Accords gave him the status of From Rodef.
Netanyahu responded to the comments as he prepared to fly home from France on Saturday evening, saying excitement was rising and “boundaries were being crossed.”
“In recent weeks we have seen a rising wave of incitement. Lines are being crossed every day, and it seems like every line has already been crossed with threats against elected officials and me. But clearly No, because today we heard and saw a clear threat to assassinate the prime minister of Israel,” Netanyahu said, before he called on the security services to act.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prior to his departure from Paris, February 4, 2023 (Lazar Berman/Times of Israel)
The Netanyahu coalition is pushing for a dramatic change that would increase the government’s control over the judiciary.
Critics say the sweeping reforms, along with other planned legislation, will affect Israel’s democratic character by upsetting its system of checks and balances, give almost all power to the executive branch, and leave individual rights unprotected and minorities unrestricted. .
The plan has attracted intense criticism and warnings from leading financial and legal experts, as well as weekly public protests and public petitions by various officials, professionals and private companies.
Netanyahu has pushed back against the criticism, saying the overhaul will strengthen democracy rather than hasten its end, and that his government is fulfilling the will of the people.
Technical workers march in Tel Aviv to protest against the government’s planned changes to the judicial system on January 31, 2023. (Tomer Newberg/Flash90)
Netanyahu’s Likud party said it was “enraged” by Raj’s comments, which were “breaking records for insanity.”
“The Shin Bet and the police should take immediate action to arrest the instigators against him and the prime minister,” the party said in a statement.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said he “strongly condemns all provocations and incitements against Netanyahu. This fight [against the judicial overhaul] It is for the soul of the country. Any provocation and violence only harms the fight to save the country.
Meanwhile, in light of increasing incidents of “incitement, harm and threats”, police chief Kobi Shabtai said his force would adopt a “zero tolerance” approach to social media posts calling for violence against public figures.
Shabtai said he would make sure “that in a democratic country the police will not deprive anyone of their freedom of protest, but at the same time we will not allow violent, inciting and threatening discourse.”
The Shin Bet Internal Security Agency also released a statement, saying that “there has been an increase in violent and inciting discourse against elected officials in general and the prime minister in particular.”
Shin Bet said that while people had a right to protest, calls for violence were “outside legitimate discourse”.
On Twitter, opposition leader Yair Lapid and head of the National Unity Party Benny Gantz condemned Raz’s comments.
“I strongly condemn in every way the incitement and call for Netanyahu’s assassination. This fight is for the soul of the state. Provocation and violence only harm the fight to save the country. “I call upon all those who love this country to protest, take to the streets, but keep the rule of law – don’t resort to violence.”
Gantz shared a similar sentiment, and said: “Draging is absolutely forbidden in those places, and no one has a license to incite, no matter how much they have contributed to the country.”
“We will fight… on the streets, in Parliament and in other ways – [but] Not through provocation and calling for murder, the former defense minister said.
Israelis protest against the current Israeli government and their planned legal reforms, Tel Aviv, January 28, 2023. (Tomer Newberg/Flash90)
The national conversation over the proposed legal overhaul continues to deteriorate, prominent lawyer David Hodek told an Israel Bar Association conference earlier this week. he will fight the government “With Live Fire” if the motion passed.
Hodek argued that the plans, supported by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, would result in the country becoming a dictatorship.
On Saturday, Hodek apologized for his comments, saying that his “words were misinterpreted and caused a storm.”
“It is important for me to state that I oppose violence,” Hodek wrote in a series of tweets.
Hodek wrote, “I did not say and I did not mean that the Reformation should be fought with arms, no matter how terrible it may be.”
Meanwhile, the Shin Bet has assessed that there is a tangible threat to the life of Attorney General Gali Bahraw-Miara, setting the threat level against her at the highest possible rating.
In a dire position paper on Thursday, Bahrau-Miara warned that plans to fundamentally change the legal and judicial system give the government virtually unfettered power, without providing any institutional protections for individual rights or for Israel’s democratic character. Bahrav-Miara also informed Netanyahu on Wednesday that he could not join his government’s judicial overhaul efforts because of a conflict of interest due to his ongoing corruption trial.
Legislative changes announced by Levin last month would severely restrict the High Court’s ability to strike down laws and government decisions, as well as an “override clause” allowing the Knesset to re-approve repealed laws with a bare majority of 61. Will enable us to make laws from
The changes would also give the government full control over the selection of judges, prevent the court from using a test of “reasonableness” to judge legislation and government decisions, and allow ministers to make their own legal decisions rather than consult with advisers who act as judges. Will allow the appointment of consultants. Under the auspices of the Ministry of Justice.
Lazar Berman contributed to this report.