Defense Minister Ya'alon
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Shin Bet opens preliminary probe into incitement against Ya'alon
After inciting photos of the defense minister were posted by Likud activists, others in the party are collecting signatures on a letter of support: 'We are opposed to the attempt to terrorize a sitting minister just because his comments do not curry favor with some.'
The Shin Bet has opened a preliminary investigation into inciting posts made by Likud activists on social media showing Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon in the center of a bullseye and depicting him in Nazi uniforms.
The investigation will examine all of the remarks made against Ya'alon, as well as the general public mood and incitement that security officials fear could bolster those seeking to harm the defense minister.
Ya'alon has been at the center of much contention in recent days in light of his comments backing IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot and many senior officials and officers in the defense establishment who came out against a Kfir Brigade soldier for shooting dead a terrorist who was already lying wounded on the ground.
Over the weekend, Ya'alon said both in private conversations and in a public post made on social media that he remains undeterred. "I will continue on my path, even if it costs me my political career," he said.
Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon (Photo: Shaul Golan)
"The good of the country is more important than my own, even at the cost of being threatened or of attempts to blacken my name and hurt me politically. I've been serving the country for 45 years, and this is a calling. So I'm fighting not just in uniform, but also in politics," he went on to say.
And after being targeted by some among the Likud party's activists, Ya'alon is now receiving backing from prominent party activists and members of the Likud center, who are collecting signatures on a letter of support in defense minister.
"We saw fit to write to you following a series of inciting comments made against you recently by some members in our movement," they wrote. "As members of a democratic movement, we believe in the right of the movement's members to conduct a discussion about remarks made by its elected representatives, and even criticize them. However, we are opposed to any attempt to terrorize a sitting minister, a member of the movement, just because his comments do not curry favor with some."
The letter went on to say that "the choice of some of those members (that it is possible the only targets they ever shot at, if at all, were made of cardboard) to draw a bullseye - while using the word 'assassination' - on the face of someone who dedicated most of his life to Israel's security - is worthy of condemnation."
Inciting photo calling to end Ya'alon's political career.
"We are rest assured that you are acting with integrity and faith to keep the IDF a professional and moral military," the letter's writers added. "Due to our belief that the realization of the Jewish people's right to rule over its homeland necessitates maintaining the purity of arms, we hope that you continue acting to ensure the security of the state and its residents, while defending the rule of law, under the principle of the 'Supremacy of the Law' instituted by the movement's founder Menachem Begin."
Dozens of Likud activists have already signed the letter, and it was distributed through social media and Likud WhatsApp groups where, in some places, other activists continued harshly criticizing Ya'alon.
Some of those activists said they had no intention of apologizing to Ya'alon and that he was the one who should apologize to them. These activists also attacked Ya'alon's statement that "The IDF chief, and not gang leaders, will determine the rules of engagement."
"Why did the defense minister decide that those who support the soldier are part of a gang?" one activist wrote. "I'm not part of a gang, and I came to the soldier's defense because of the immediate and unbridled attacks against him by Bogie (Ya'alon) and the other politicians."
Itamar Eichner contributed to this story.
