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Israeli outlet claims crowd that frightened mother of autistic child was ‘respectful’

“A video from the scene shows empathy and respect” between the MK and the protesters, the report said, using a partial video clip from a radical-left activist without disclosing the source.

By Adina Katz, World Israel News

Israelis across the political spectrum, including Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, condemned the anti-government protesters who blocked the doorway of MK Tali Gottlieb’s home, preventing her from leaving the house and scaring her autistic daughter.

Activists against the judicial reforms were blocking roads as well as coalition lawmakers’ homes to prevent them from voting Monday. In any event, the coalition passed the first reading of the bill in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.

“I strongly condemn the siege on the home of MK Tali Gottlieb, the mother of a child with special needs, and the fact that she was not allowed to take the child outside,” Lapid, who himself has an autistic daughter, wrote on Twitter.

“This is not our way. This is not a way of protest. Sending Tali… and her daughter a hug.”

Matanel Gottlieb, the MK’s son, told Hebrew-language media that his autistic sister had “immediately hurt herself due to the pounding on the door and the protesters cursing.”

He added that “it seems that these days everything has become legitimate, even if it [leads to] a low-functioning autistic girl [getting out of] control.”

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“I have no problem with you demonstrating in front of houses, but show some humanity,” he said.

The Jerusalem Post published an article Tuesday claiming that MK Gottlieb, who told the Knesset later that day that she had been seriously frightened and feared for her safety during the incident, was exaggerating the severity of the event.

The Post appeared to take umbrage with Gottlieb’s characterization of the demonstrators as “anarchists” and “predators.” The outlet claimed that the exchange between Gottlieb and the protesters had been a “respectful and understanding discussion.”

Videos from the scene show a clearly startled Gottlieb, wearing a nightgown, telling the demonstrators that while they are welcome to protest and “do whatever they want,” she has a “low-functioning autistic daughter” and that loud noises and shouting will scare her.

Notably, Gottlieb is heard speaking in a soft voice, presumably so that she will not disturb her daughter. Because the protesters aren’t shouting, the Post appears to argue, Gottlieb should have felt respected during the exchange.

Gottlieb continues her plea by emphasizing that her daughter’s daily routine involves therapy and that she was planning to take her out of the house at 7:35 a.m. A disruption to her routine could “destroy her progress,” the MK stressed.

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The Post used a short clip of several of the protesters responding “of course” and “we’re on her side,” pledging not to disturb the child.


The partial clip, however, which does not show the full discussion between the protesters and Gottlieb, came from the Twitter account of Israel Frey. Frey is a radical left-wing activist who was arrested in December 2022 on suspicion of inciting terrorism, after he wrote on Twitter that a Palestinian man arrested for planning a terror attack was a “hero.”

The Post failed to reference or embed longer videos of the same exchange, in which Gottlieb pleads with the protesters to be quiet. For example, a man condescendingly commands Gottlieb to “put on music inside your home,” as though background music would be sufficient to calm the child.

When Gottlieb tells the protesters that she would need to leave with her daughter, the same man responds, “So call someone else to take your daughter [to therapy.] You’re staying at home.”

The videos used in the Post article also show a policeman at the scene, which raises the possibility that the protesters were on their best behavior at the time that scene was recorded.

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On Tuesday morning, Hebrew-language outlet Walla reported on the protester’s claims that Gottlieb had allegedly mischaracterized the incident. The site published a Twitter post from one of the demonstrators, who claimed that Gottlieb “cried crocodile tears to the media” and “cynically used her daughter” to “lie and distort the facts.”

Like the Post, Walla did not report on the full exchange.