The Health Ministry's Head of Public Health Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis has been receiving death threats for her part in Israel's coronavirus response, prompting her spouse to post a call for police action on his Twitter feed on Thursday.
"Israel Police, [Public Security] Minister [Omer] Barlev, there are immediate threats on my wife's life. You know it, there are messages on social media, there are phone numbers, there are calls with explicit threats. You've got all the material. This is the time to act. Now, before it's too late," Dr. Meir Preis wrote.
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Head of Public Health Services Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, right, and Health Ministry Director-General Prof. Nachman Ash
(Photo: Amit Shabi)
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett threw his support behind Dr. Alroy-Preis and noted the vaccine's importance to Israel's pandemic strategy.
"Anti-vaxxers' fake news war against Elroy-Preis and others has to stop. The vaccines are our Iron Dome against coronavirus," Bennett said, referring to Israel's world-famous Iron Dome missile defense system. "They save lives and allow us to keep Israel open and functioning. Ignore the fake, go get vaccinated."
The Health Ministry announced on Wednesday it would seek police intervention in the face of the recurring threats against Dr. Alroy-Preis.
"The violent incitement that has been raging over the past few days on social media against Dr. Alroy-Preis, a dedicated public servant, must be stopped immediately! There is no place for swearwords, threats, and incitement," a ministry spokesperson wrote on its Twitter account. "It's dangerous and the ministry addresses these kinds of issues very seriously and a complaint will
be filed with the police."
Public Security Minister Omer Barlev also condemned the threats made against Dr. Alroy-Preis and added that "this kind of rhetoric won't be allowed against any person, especially against dedicated public servants and experts in their field."
Barlev also noted that three complaints have been filed over the past several months for such threats which are currently being investigated.
Alroy-Preis has been exposed to intense criticism in the past, including from members of the cabinet, who — while demanding anonymity in leaks to the media — have accused her of taking too extreme a position in favor of COVID-19 restrictions.
In August, a freak incident sparked a media storm after a Zoom participant at a Knesset panel was heard using a curse word during Alroy-Preis' testimony.
As she addressed a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee hearing on the government’s COVID-19 policy, an unidentified member listening on Zoom interjected with the term, “bat zona,” which can be loosely translated as “bitch.”