Leftists, rightists clash near Baruch Goldstein’s grave
Breaking the Silence activists’ tour of Kiryat Arba, Hebron cut short due to ‘warm welcome’ from right-wing activists
On Friday morning, adjacent to Baruch Goldstein’s grave in Kiryat Arba, clashes occurred between right-wing activists and members of the “Breaking the Silence “ left-wing group, who arrived in the area after receiving police approval.
The rightists, including Itamar Ben Gvir, Baruch Marzel and Noam Federman, screamed “provacateurs, Jewish blood is on your hands.”
Breaking the Silence activists arrived in the area on a tour of Kiryat Arba and Hebron guided by Yehuda Shaul. When they arrived at the grave of murderer Baruch Goldstein in Kiryat Arba, dozens of right-wing activists and settlers crowded around them and asked to prevent the continuation of their tour. They also stopped them from reaching Goldstein’s grave.
According to Shaul, the group arrived with the purpose of touring the area and will in fact do so.
“The tour was coordinated with the police two weeks ago and it is up to the police to make it possible,” he said. The police claimed that it made the proper prior arrangements.
Just two weeks ago, Breaking the Silence members were forced to cut a Hebron tour short due to a group of settlers crowding around their bus. No injuries or arrests occurred during this confrontation.
This latter tour was also coordinated with the police after the leftist organization turned to the High Court of Justice regarding Hebron tours and reached an agreement with the State Prosecutor’s Office.
This last tour was also greeted at the entrance of Hebron by Itamar Ben Gvir, Baruch Marzel and Noam Federman, who physically prevented the entrance of the bus for two hours.
Afterwards, the leftists continued with their tour, but due to information they received pertaining to setters who were planning provocations near the Beit Hadassah neighborhood, the police decided to shorten the visit.
Ultimately, Breaking the Silence members walked the whole of 500 meters (1,700 feet) until the Gross Square and then left.
Breaking the Silence is a group of ex-servicemen who gather evidence from soldiers serving during the second intifada and emphasize incidents of abuse, humiliation and destruction of property.
