Likud MK Boaz Bismuth was heckled by anti-government spectators during Monday’s ceremony on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day at a synagogue in Tel Aviv.
In footage on social media, several people could be heard shouting “shame” at Bismuth, while others demanded he stop interrupting.
It appears that Bismuth left the synagogue as the brawl between parts of the crowd became heated and almost turned into a physical altercation.
He later posted footage of remarks made during the ceremony, calling for unity amid growing division over the government’s efforts to reform the judiciary.
“Holocaust Remembrance Day transcends any political disagreement or party position. The Nazis were not interested in the political position or party affiliation of Jews, only their Jewishness,” tweeted Bismuth. We must uphold the sanctity of this day Shouldn’t and shouldn’t be bothered about anything other than the Holocaust survivors and the six million people who were brutally murdered by the Nazis who tried to destroy us!
The incident was condemned by Benny Gantz, chairman of the opposition National Unity party, who tweeted that “As the son of Holocaust survivors, MK Bismuth’s photos from a Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony at a synagogue in the Jewish state are heartbreaking. “
No respect: Protesters against reform deface a Holocaust commemoration event held at a synagogue in Tel Aviv – when MK Boaz Bismut went up to give a speech. Surprised participants pull out chairs and ask to respect the situation pic.twitter.com/byz4oFkzFE
— Moti Kastle (@kastlemoti) April 17, 2023
“While I understand the division and distress felt by many in the nation [over the government’s judicial overhaul effort], I ask everyone to exercise restraint in these holy days,” he wrote. Important debates about our image would later be conducted with determination and vigour.
This ordeal occurred at about the same time that President Isaac Herzog used his speech at the official state ceremony marking Holocaust Memorial Day to urge Israelis to properly remember those killed by the Nazis.
“This year is no ordinary year. And this Memorial Day is like no other. This year, emotions run rough and shoulders slump as if to testify the weight of discord that has fallen upon us,” he said. “Let us put these holy days, which begin tonight and end on Independence Day, above all controversy; let us all come together, as always, in partnership, in sorrow, in remembrance.”
Turning to an increasingly divisive discourse, Herzog strongly condemned the use of analogies for the Nazis and the Holocaust in Israeli political debates.
“Nazi hatred was an unprecedented evil, unparalleled by any measure. It was not mere malice. It was an infinity of horrors. We must remember, repeat and imbibe again and again: they – and they alone – The Nazis were. That – and that alone – was the Holocaust,” he said.
“Even in the grip of ferocious disagreements about values, about destiny, about faith, about destiny, we must be careful to avoid any comparison, any analogy with the Holocaust or the Nazis, He continued.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the main Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony held at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem on April 17, 2023. (Eric Marmor/Flash90)
Herzog ended his remarks with an appeal for unity, saying that Israel’s 75-year history shows that “you will not defeat us.”
“To sisters and brothers, we are. Yes, brothers who know how to argue and disagree. But never the haters. never an enemy. We are one people, and one people we will remain, brought together not only by a painful history but also by our shared, hopeful future and destiny,” he said.
Speaking after Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged national unity and compared today’s Iran to Nazi Germany as the current entity threatening the Jewish people, from his previous speeches at Yad Vashem for Holocaust Remembrance Day repeating a theme.
As he has done in previous years, Netanyahu said that calls for the extermination of the Jewish people have not stopped, and today come from Iran. He stressed that past victories do not guarantee future victories, adding that Israel must be able to “defend itself from any enemy, any threat”.
