Peace Now official's home vandalized with 'Price Tag'

"Rabin is waiting for you," sprayed on organization's Settlement Watch director Hagit Ofran's residence; second attack against Ofran's home.

By JEREMY SHARON, JERUSALEM POST STAFF
price tag 311 (photo credit: Tovah Lazaroff)
price tag 311
(photo credit: Tovah Lazaroff)
The home of Peace Now official Hagit Ofran was vandalized with graffiti late Monday night in a so-called “price-tag” attack. Her Jerusalem residence was spray-painted with the words “Rabin is waiting for you” and “Hagit Ofran z’l” (the Hebrew acronym for rest in peace). Swastikas were also spray-painted on the building.
Tuesday evening marks the Jewish anniversary of the assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin at the hands of a right-wing extremist.
RELATED:'Price tag' sprayed on Peace Now offices in JerusalemJerusalem court issues first-ever 'price tag' indictment
Police Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said that the police have opened an investigation into the incident to find the perpetrators of the attack.
“These people are trying to silence us and our work,” said Ofran, who directs Peace Now’s Settlement Watch project. “There is a dispute in the country on the future of the state, with people arguing from the right and the left, and that’s fine. I’m sure that most of the settlers are against violence attacks, but it’s not legitimate to try to close down an organization just because it holds a specific political point of view.”
In response to the attacks – as well as what the group called current threats to democracy and freedom of the press – Peace Now held a demonstration Tuesday night outside the Prime Minister’s Residence. According to Ofran, between 150-200 people turned up to protest.
On Sunday, Peace Now’s Jerusalem offices were sprayed with graffiti in a similar incident, and the suspected perpetrator of the attack spoke through the intercom and said that a bomb had been hidden in the building and would explode in 10 minutes.
Back in September, Ofran’s residence was spraypainted with the messages “Migron forever,” “price tag” and “Peace Now – the end is near.”
The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Monday issued the first-ever indictment for a “price tag” operation, charging two 18-year-olds and a minor in connection to two incidents that occurred in March.
The suspects included 18-year-old Hillel Leibowitz of Hebron, 18-year-old Yisrael Katz of Sde Eliezer, and an unnamed minor from the center of Israel.
Ben Hartman contributed to this report.