Double standard? Bereaved mother of slain IDF soldier prosecuted for protest

Mother of slain IDF soldier who pasted stickers on EU consulate has been subject to criminal proceedings for three years; She notes that protesters who set fires on Ayalon Highway have not been indicted.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

The bereaved mother of an IDF soldier killed in the line of duty expressed outrage that she is currently being prosecuted for pasting stickers on a building, while not a single indictment has been filed against anti-judicial reform protesters who have illegally blocked Ayalon Highway and engaged in massive demonstrations that have crippled the country.

Meirav Hajaj’s daughter Shir was murdered in a 2017 Jerusalem terror attack, at the age of 22.

Since the slaying, Hajaj has been an outspoken advocate against international aid to Palestinian terror groups and critical of the Israeli government’s policies around fighting terror.

In 2020, Hajaj participated in a protest against the European Union’s funding of Palestinian NGOs that serve as fronts for terror. As part of the demonstration, she glued stickers expressing opposition to the financing onto the EU’s consulate in Tel Aviv.

Hajaj was immediately arrested and has been subject to a criminal trial that’s now stretched more than three years, according to a Channel 14 report.

Speaking to the news outlet, Hajaj compared the vigor of the prosecution targeting her with what she described as the state’s soft touch towards left-wing protesters.

“I see the damage they’re doing to Ayalon, to Kaplan [Street in Tel Aviv] and it’s simply crazy,” Hajaj told Channel 14. “They’re damaging every place where they’re demonstrating. But there’s no prosecutions against anyone.

“Meanwhile, I’ve already been to court dozens of times… the judge asked me to prove that there wasn’t irreparable damage done to the EU building. I feel like now I shouldn’t have to prove anything, since the anarchists are free to create chaos in the streets for weeks on end.”

Hajaj acknowledged that during the protest in which she participated, one demonstrator did graffiti the words “German money kills Jews” on the building.

Notably, in recent months, the Brothers in Arms organization has repeatedly engaged in vandalism such as damaging the offices of the Kohelet Forum, using barbed wire, sandbags, and stickers to deface the space.

Additionally, left-wing protests have seen tires set aflame and fires started outside on Ayalon Highway, in major intersections and outside government buildings and lawmakers’ homes.

“They’re intentionally dragging out the trial, when the damage to the EU building was estimated at 200 shekels ($55) to repair. On the other hand, we’re talking about damages to the Kohelet Forum and Ayalon that are just insane. But nobody is prosecuting them, nobody is taking them to court, there’s no indictments. Nothing,” Hajaj said.

anti-government protestIDF soldiersJudicial reformMeirav HajajPalestinian terrorShir Hajaj