Likud MK Boaz Bismuth was forced to leave a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony mid-speech at a synagogue in Tel Aviv when it nearly devolved into violence after anti-government participants jeered at him.
Videos taken at the scene show attendants shouting, “He shouldn’t be here!” and “Shame!” The refrain, borrowed from the popular Game of Thrones television series, has become ubiquitous at the anti judicial reform protests sweeping the country.
The incident took place shortly after both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog called for discord within Israel to be set aside to honor the solemnity of the day.
At one point, people at the synagogue started to become physically violent, forcing Bismuth, who is also the former editor of the Israel Hayom daily, to leave.
Bismuth later released a statement saying: “Holocaust Remembrance Day is beyond any other political or partisan controversy. This is a holy day meant to preserve the memory of millions of Jews who perished. When the Nazis murdered them, they were not concerned about their political position or their party position, what interested them was that they were Jews. To divide, quarrel and fight on this day – this is a terrible thing that I will not support.”
National Unity party chairman MK Benny Gantz condemned the actions of protesters: “As a son of Holocaust survivors, the pictures of MK Bismuth being expelled from a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony, in a synagogue in the Jewish state, hurt my heart.”
“I condemn this, and even though I understand the difference of opinion and the distress many in the nation feel, I ask of everybody to show restraint in these holy days. After them, we will lead intense and important debates about [Israel’s] character with determination and strength.”