Israeli far-left activists protesting against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government on Sunday tore down signs with pictures of Israeli soldiers killed fighting Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, local media reported.
The tearing down of the signs, which called for victory over Hamas, drew wide condemnation from politicians and families of fallen IDF soldiers.
“Protesters who have lost their minds are tearing down pictures of fallen IDF soldiers. They are sure that everything is allowed to them,” tweeted Education Minister Yoav Kisch. He added, “What a disgrace.”
Aryeh King, a deputy mayor of Jerusalem, said in a statement, “There is no bottom that the Kaplanists [activists] won’t reach. Far-left activists tear down signs with pictures of fallen IDF soldiers and hostages.”
Itzik Bunzel, the father of IDF Sgt. Amit Bunzel, 22, a paratrooper who was killed in action in the central Gaza Strip on Dec. 6, 2023, told Israel’s Channel 14 News broadcaster on Sunday, “This video should continue to echo during these days, again and again, on all television programs.
“I want to hear from everyone—everyone—a condemnation of this act,” the bereaved Israeli father added.
Yehoshua Shani, the father of Capt. Ori Mordechay Shani, 22, who fell in battle during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border massacre, said: “In the Holy Land, about which our ancestors dreamed of returning to from exile, there is nothing sacred left.
“Is this the true face of the protest? Defacing pictures of fallen IDF soldiers? Where else will you lead the country?” asked Shani.
In September, HaGvura‒The Forum for Families of Fallen Heroes filed a complaint with the Israel Police against former magistrate’s court judge Sara Haviv after she was filmed tearing down a poster with pictures of fallen IDF soldiers and hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Members of the HaGvura forum have campaigned in recent months for the continuation of Israel’s military operation against Hamas in Gaza, demanding that the death of their loved ones should not be in vain.
The death toll among Israeli troops since the start of the Gaza ground incursion on Oct. 27, 2023, stands at 407 and at 846 on all fronts since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 cross-border massacre, according to IDF figures.